Vancouver Whitecaps v Colorado Rapids: Armas wants high-flying visitors to keep raising the bar

Chris Armas is relishing the situation that Vancouver Whitecaps airs to Colorado Rapids arsenic they hole to look disconnected successful MLS.

The Rapids are presently 5th successful the Western Conference, portion a triumph implicit Vancouver connected Saturday would spot them leapfrog their opponents.

They person mislaid conscionable 1 of their six matches truthful acold but are unbeaten connected the road, lone dropping points connected the opening time astatine St. Louis City SC.

Armas is excited by the imaginable of facing the West leaders, with his squad successful good signifier coming into the game.

“We’re excited for the play and to prime up wherever we near off,” helium said. “That’s the situation to the squad to effort to rise the barroom and what the modular is for america successful games.

“We privation to prime up wherever we near disconnected and trial ourselves against a first-place team. Could you imagine, we’re a fewer points off, and we’re not talking astir it internally, but arsenic the coach, we similar what we’re looking up at.

“It’s a large test. They’re disconnected to a large start, and they’re a bully team.”

Chris Armas sees the situation up and knows our guys volition beryllium acceptable for immoderate Vancouver brings #Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/SJ45ZgEYji

— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) April 3, 2025

Vancouver, meanwhile, won their archetypal 4 MLS matches of the play but person since gone winless successful their past two, though they inactive beryllium apical of the table.

They travel into this lucifer winless successful 3 outings, having besides been pegged backmost by a precocious extremity from Pumas UMAN successful their 1-1 gully successful the archetypal limb of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarter-final.

One happening caput manager Jesper Sorensen has been peculiarly pleased with truthful acold is Vancouver’s set-play ability, thing helium is keen to support moving on.

“We haven’t fixed up galore set-plays astatine all, which is simply a bully happening due to the fact that past you don’t springiness up galore goals connected set-plays,” helium said.

“You ever privation to accidental that you shouldn’t concede connected them, but past you tin crook it astir and say, good then, however tin you people connected them? Because past the presumption says the aforesaid thing.

“We’ve been bully this play truthful far, and that’s due to the fact that we haven’t fixed galore set-plays against us.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Vancouver Whitecaps – Yohei Takaoka

The Whitecaps person faced an MLS-low 44 shots this season, with conscionable 14 of them hitting the target, besides the fewest successful the league. Only 4 teams, since Opta began elaborate information postulation of MLS successful 2010, person allowed less shots done six matches of a season.

Yohei Takaoka has prevented 0.8 goals according to the expected goals connected people exemplary (xGoT) and conceded conscionable 5 goals. Only 2 teams crossed MLS person fto successful less goals.

Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic

Djordje Mihailovic scored some Rapids goals successful their triumph implicit Charlotte FC connected Saturday and present has 27 extremity contributions (13 goals, 14 assists) since joining Colorado past season, much than immoderate different American planetary successful MLS successful that time.

MATCH PREDICTION: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN

The Whitecaps won their past lucifer against Colorado 2-1 successful June 2024. There person been consecutive wins by 1 squad implicit the different conscionable erstwhile successful this bid since 2016 (Whitecaps – 2 consecutive successful 2017-18).

Vancouver won their archetypal 4 games of the season, becoming conscionable the seventh squad successful MLS past to grounds 4 consecutive wins to commencement a season, but person taken conscionable 1 constituent successful 2 matches since. None of the erstwhile six teams to triumph their archetypal 4 matches of a play went winless successful their adjacent three.

Meanwhile, with 11 points done six matches (W3 D2 L1), Colorado person equaled the champion commencement to a play successful nine past (11 points successful 2014). The Rapids person ne'er taken 14 points from their archetypal 7 matches of a play before.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Vancouver Whitecaps – 51%

Draw – 24.9%

Colorado Rapids – 24.1%