New York City FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

New York City FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 23
Yankee Stadium — Bronx
August 4 - 8 pm ET
WATCH: TSN2, ESPN+

After their four-match winning streak was snapped in Seattle Sunday, New York City FC return to the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium, where they are 10-0-1 this season. They take on a Vancouver Whitecaps FC side coming off a 4-2 home win over Minnesota United FC.

The Whitecaps earned a 3-2 win against NYCFC in the last meeting between the two clubs. The Cityzens had won the first two league games against Vancouver, and have scored 2+ goals in all three games.

New York City FC

Following a cross-country flight on short rest, NYCFC (13-5-4) were gassed on the turf at CenturyLink Field on a warm Sunday afternoon and fell to the Sounders, 3-1, Sunday in their second road game in four days.

Cristian Roldan opened the scoring with the lone goal of the first half and Gustav Svensson doubled the Sounders advantage in the 51st minute. Jesus Medina halved the visitors deficit in the 68th minute before Harry Shipp put the finishing touches on an impressive win five minutes from full time.

“We played well the first half. We played compact,” Dome Torrent said. “They had problems in between lines that they don’t find the players who play inside because we played really well. We defended well. We defended compact. And after that, we are able to create three or four chances in the first half. But football is when you are more clinical than the opponent. That is football.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Tommy McNamara
International duty: None
Unavailable: F - David Villa (per MLS policy)
Injury Report: OUT: M - Yangel Herrera (ankle injury), D - Cedric Hountondji (hamstring avusion); QUESTIONABLE: GK - Sean Johnson (shoulder injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2–3-1, right to left)
GK: Sean Johnson — Anton Tinnerholm, Maxime Chanot, Alex Callens, Ben Sweat — Alex Ring, Ebenezer Ofori — Jesus Medina, Maxi Moralez, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi — Jo Inge Berget

Notes: Maxi Moralez completed 61 passes in Seattle’s half in their 3-1 loss last weekend, the most successful passes in an opponent’s half ever by NYC player in a MLS match. ... NYCFC’s 3-1 loss last weekend snapped a four-game winning streak in which they did not allow a single goal. However, the Cityzens are on a franchise-best 13-game unbeaten run at home (10W-3D).

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

After making history with a record-setting transfer to Bayern Munich, Alphonso Davies had a day against Minnesota United to lead Vancouver (8-9-5) to a 4-2 win at BC Place.

The 17-year-old had two goals and two assists and Yordy Reyna and Kei Kamara each added a goal in the win. The Whitecaps took a commanding 3-0 lead in the 64th minute, but things got hairy when Ibson and Abu Danladi scored five minutes apart late; however, Davies came through with his second goal to put the finishing touches on an impressive win.

“The guys on the team at the moment are playing well, that’s the first thing,” Carl Robinson said. “Obviously Wednesday-Saturday two big games for us against Montreal and Minnesota and they’ve put in really good performances.”

Suspended: M - Efrain Juarez, D - Kendall Waston
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: M - Jordon Mutch (right foot injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-4-1-1, right to left)
GK: Stefan Marinovic — Jake Nerwinski, Jose Aja, Doneil Henry, Marcel de Jong — Cristian Techera, Aly Ghazal, Felipe, Alphonso Davies — Yordy Reyna, Kei Kamara

Notes: In the 1,367+ minutes Reyna has played this season, the Whitecaps average 1.8 goals per 90. In the 798+ minutes without him, they average 0.8 per 90. ... The Whitecaps have dropped their last three league road games, getting outscored 9-1 in the process. They have not lost four straight MLS away games since a MLS franchise-worst seven-game losing streak in 2012.

All-Time Series

Overall: New York City FC 2 wins, 7 goals … Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 win, 6 goals … 0 draws
At New York City: NYCFC 1 win, 3 goals … Whitecaps FC 0 wins, 2 goals … 0 draws
Last meeting at New York City: New York City FC 3, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (April 30, 2016)