St. Louis, Whitecaps vie for Western Conference lead

St. Louis City SC (14-6-8, 50 points) hosts Western Conference leader Vancouver Whitecaps (15-7-6, 51 points) on Wednesday at Energizer Park, one point back. A win or draw clinches St. Louis a playoff berth; a win would move City into first. St. Louis is unbeaten in 20 matches across all competitions, matching the 2016 New York Red Bulls MLS record, after beating the LA Galaxy 6-2 with Carlo Holse's hat trick in the first 21 minutes and two goals from Rafael Navarro. Vancouver drew 1-1 at LAFC despite a seventh-minute red card to Tristan Blackmon, who is suspended; several injured Whitecaps did not travel. Coach Jesper Sørensen said he hoped for a great, entertaining game between two aggressive teams that want to attack and that Vancouver would come out on top, calling the injuries not unusual amid a congested schedule and travel. Andres Cubas said it will be a tough game but the Whitecaps prepared well and must do something else than in the prior meeting and trust what they can do. Emmanuel Sabbi said the side seeks not revenge but to win, believes in the team and goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka, and called the playoff clinch a good box to check while aiming for No. 1 one game at a time. Takaoka said St. Louis is in good form and it will be a tough game as Vancouver gets back to its rhythm.