Match Preview: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Toronto FC

Match Information

Teams: Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs Toronto FC

Location: BMO Field, Toronto

Date and Time: August 21st, 8:00 pm EST, 5:00 pm PST

Watching: TSN (in Canada) & MLS Live on ESPN+ (in US)

What to expect

It has been three days since the Vancouver Whitecaps lost 3-0 to Toronto FC at BMO field - one day for each goal. There have been a lot of questions surrounding Marc Dos Santos’ job security, and even more surrounding what our beloved Whitecaps will do differently today.

It’s been covered a lot that the Whitecaps didn’t just lose on Tuesday, but that they didn’t quite look to be in the same league as their opponents. Toronto ended the game with 75 percent of the possession, after being able to pass freely around the Whitecaps’ stationary defence. Lucas Cavallini called it “just a big mess”, and I think that just about perfectly describes it.

With Tuesday in the rearview mirror, let’s look ahead to what we can expect from today’s match.

After being dominated in the middle of the field, I expect MDS to try clogging passing lanes with a variation of a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Lucas Cavallini the lone striker up front. I’d expect Derek Cornelius to slot in beside Ranko Veselinovic, with Andy Rose playing the number six role in front of the defence. The hope here is that the Whitecaps can avoid the quick passes which broke them down on Tuesday, while supplying some passes of their own.

I’m predicting Milinkovic and Ricketts to get a start on the wings, with Dajome and Reyna coming off the bench in a similar spot to the one they were in against Chicago at MLS is Back. Raposo and Theo Bair showed well coming off the bench on Tuesday, and are deserving of another chance to provide some energy off the bench.

If everything goes according to plan, we could see SKC “round two”, with another heroic defensive performance and timely saves from either Bryan Meredith or Thomas Hasal. What the Whitecaps didn’t face against Sporting Kansas City, however, was the individual skill from players like Pozuelo and Piatti. So I suppose there’s only one way to find out!

Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports

Predicted Starting XI

Meredith

Nerwinski-Cornelius-Veselinovic-Adnan

Rose

Milinkovic-Teibert-Owusu-Ricketts

Cavallini

Prediction

Now, we have no reason to believe that we’ll see a different result, what with the definition of insanity and all, but that’s exactly why I’m going to predict a win 2-1 against those pesky Torontonians in red. Let’s say the Whitecaps go up 1-0 after a successful counterattack, TFC will score a brilliant goal in return, and then Vancouver will score a goal off of a corner to end the game. I mean, it probably won’t happen, but how smart will I look if it does?