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Pre-match Preview: CITY SC to head north and face Vancouver Whitecaps

Celio CITY SC's Célio Pompeu takes on Vancouver's Édier Ocampo. (Lucas Sellem)
By Lucas Sellem

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Matrix Midwest)—St. Louis CITY SC will face Vancouver Whitecaps FC this weekend to wrap up its back-to-back road match tour.

St. Louis is coming off a disappointing loss to the Chicago Fire that saw four goals in the second half.

The loss was CITY SC’s eighth in a row on the road, and added to an 11-match winless streak this year away from Energizer Park.

St. Louis is still No. 14 in the Western Conference and 11 points out of a playoff spot. With eight matches remaining, St. Louis must win at least half of them to keep any chance of a playoff appearance alive.

MLS Western Conference standings as of August 20. (ESPN)

Vancouver, on the other hand, sits in third place in the Western Conference with 46 points. During their last five regular-season matches, the Whitecaps have lost only once and have beaten two separate clubs by three goals.

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Last time these two met was in St. Louis, where the match ended in a 0-0 draw.

Timo Baumgartl challenges Vancouver's Brian White for a header. (Lucas Sellem)

At home, Vancouver averages 2.00 points per game, winning 58 percent of its matches at BC Place.

Forward Brian White has been the club’s star man for the entire season. The 29-year-old USMNT feature has scored 13 goals in 18 matches for Vancouver, with an xG of 14.8.

Recently, the Whitecaps landed a major transfer signing in the form of legendary Bayern Munich forward Thomas Müller.

He is both the all-time German top goalscorer and assist provider in the UEFA Champions League. And now, he is the latest global superstar to join MLS.

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Müller nearly scored in his debut for Vancouver, and St. Louis should expect him to be hunting for his first goal with the club Saturday night.

There isn’t much St. Louis has going for it this weekend. Vancouver dominates in nearly every statistical category, especially as the home side.

There is, however, one chink in its armor.

The Whitecaps are one of the top goal-scoring clubs in the conference. But, even at home, they’ve been underwhelming when their opponents beat them to the punch.

Vancouver has a shocking 0.33 points per game at home when its opponent strikes first.

For David to beat Goliath, St. Louis must score early and defend late. Seems obvious, but if Chicago can get away with what it accomplished last weekend, a club like Vancouver could do much worse.

The match kicks off at 8:30 p.m. at BC Place.

For more on St. Louis CITY SC, click here.

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