Match Preview: Whitecaps at FC Edmonton

It's the match that was supposed to take place two weeks ago, as the Vancouver Whitecaps will travel to Clarke Field in Edmonton Alberta Wednesday for the second leg of their Amway Canadian Championship against FC Edmonton. The Whitecaps were in town a fortnight ago, but a heap of snow altered plans a fair bit.

Last Time They Met

Ugh, do we really need to go over this? The Whitecaps fielded a very young lineup, a lineup that didn't look all too impressive in a 1-1 draw with the Eddies at BC Place.

It would have been a loss if not for a late Gershon Koffie equalizer. It was about as ugly as matches get, and the Whitecaps are obviously hoping events will unfold a little differently this week.

Will Youth Still Rule?

Despite the weak performance, the Whitecaps will likely trot out another youth filled lineup as Carl Robinson looks to get his young guys some minutes that matter. I'm not totally opposed to the idea, but if those young guns really want playing time, they're going to have to finish their chances. An 18 year old like Debyi Flores can be excused if he looks a little rough, but guys like Darren Mattocks and Erik Hurtado? Yeah, they're going to need to produce here.

Fans care about the Canadian Championship, fans want to see some favorable results for the Whitecaps, and fans are going to be rightly pissed if they're forced to watch another dud like last week. No matter what lineup the Whitecaps field, they're going to go into the match as favorites because they're an MLS club. The guys wearing blue and white need to have that same type of swagger when they walk out onto the pitch tonight.

Confused?

Here's a handy guide courtesy of WhitecapsFC.com regarding how this two-leg aggregate series works.

WHITECAPS FC ADVANCE WITH...

• Any win
• A draw of 2-2 or higher

WHITECAPS FC FORCE EXTRA TIME WITH...

• A 1-1 draw
• In the event of a 1-1 draw, there will be 30 minutes of extra time (two 15-minute halves). The full 30 minutes must be played regardless of any goals scored and the away goals rule remains in effect.
• If no goals are scored in extra time, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout.

FC EDMONTON ADVANCE WITH...

• Any win
• A 0-0 draw

Prediction?

Maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, but if another youth laden lineup is trotted out, I don't like the Whitecaps chances.

1-0 Edmonton.