Orlando City SC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2017 MLS Match Preview

Ben Couch

Orlando City SC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2017 MLS Match Preview
Orlando City Stadium – Orlando, Florida
Saturday, August 26 – 7:30 p.m. ET
WATCH: TSN; MLS LIVE in US

Two teams clawing at the playoff line take the field on Saturday, when Orlando City SC take on the Vancouver Whitecaps. Hosts Orlando have been mired in a nearly four-month skid that has them staring up at an ever-elusive postseason berth, and though they pulled together to snare a point against Columbus last week, the need for three points grows ever greater as Decision Day approaches. The roster revamp is on, but it's running out of time to take. Kaká returning after a controversial red-card suspension should help bolster the attack.

The 'Caps, meanwhile, sit solidly above the line – two games in hand giving them clearance from their nearest competitors – but the consistent inconsistency of their campaign, in which they've not won or lost more than two consecutive matches, has kept them on the playoff fringe rather than among the contenders. After a slow start, Fredy Montero's debut campaign for Vancouver has proven up to expectation, and provides a threat any opponent needs to acknowledge.

Orlando City SC

Suspended: None
Int’l Duty: None
Injury Report: OUT – D Jonathan Spector (knee injury), M Will Johnson (ankle sprain); DAY-TO-DAY: D PC (adductor injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-1-2; left-to-right)
Joe Bendik – Donny Toia, Tommy Redding, Jose Aja, Scott Sutter – Yoshi Yotun, Antonio Nocerino, Will Johnson - Kaká – Dom Dwyer, Cyle Larin

Notes: Orlando are winless in their last five home games (0-2-3), their longest home winless streak in MLS play since their first five home matches in the league (2015).

Vancouver Whitecaps

Suspended: None
Int’l Duty: None
Injury Report: OUT – D David Edgar (PCL, MCL tear), M Matias Laba (torn ACL)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1; left-to-right)
GK: David Ousted — Jordan Harvey, Tim Parker, Kendall Waston, Sheanon Williams — Tony Tchani, Andrew Jacobson — Cristian Techera, Yordy Reyna, Christian Bolaños — Fredy Montero

Notes: Fredy Montero, who on Wednesday scored yet again vs. former MLS employers Seattle, has now scored in double figures in goals in each of his five MLS seasons (2009-12 with Seattle Sounders FC; 2017 with Vancouver Whitecaps FC) – a mark of consistency unmatched in MLS history. Only David Villa and Sebastian Giovinco (three years each) have similarly hit that mark in all their MLS campaigns.