Match Forecast: Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs St. Louis City SC

In the anticipated MLS face-off between Vancouver Whitecaps FC and St. Louis City SC on June 30th, 2024, both teams are showing promising performance trends.

Vancouver Whitecaps, despite a less than stellar home form, boasts an average of one point per game from their last five matches, including home and away games. They’ve shown a strong offensive streak, having landed BTTS in five of these matches and netted a total of eight goals. An impressive defensive record of two consecutive, unbeaten games emphasizes their resilience. There’s a promising chance we’ll see a minimum of two goals from them given that each of their last 6 matches ended with at least two goals scored. Their current season showcases a 74% record of both teams scoring, indicating a potentially high-scoring match ahead.

As for St. Louis City SC, they come into this match in impressive form with 1.8 points per game on average from their last five, both home and away. They’ve net in four of these games and are currently unbeaten in three away games. They continue to prove their offensive abilities with goals in each of the last five away games. Their overall strong momentum is underlined by an unbeaten run in their last five games which includes two wins and three draws. This season has seen 59% of their games end with both teams scoring.

In their past meetings, Vancouver Whitecaps have a slight edge having won one of their two encounters, with St. Louis City winning the other. While Vancouver’s home form has been less impressive, St. Louis’s away form has been poor. The last match saw Vancouver take a decisive 3-0 victory. Both teams have had high-scoring encounters, with an average of 3.5 goals per match and a 50% likelihood of BTTS.

As for their season’s performance in the MLS, Vancouver Whitecaps average at 1.38 points per game for home fixtures while St. Louis City lags slightly at an average of 0.63 points in their away games.

Considering these factors, this match promises an exciting showdown with a fair likelihood of both teams scoring and a minimum of two goals.

Insights

• Based on recent performances, St. Louis City SC has acquired more points – grabbing an average of 1.8 ppg versus Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s 1 ppg.
• St. Louis City SC also comes in with the momentum, going undefeated for 5 games, with 2 of these being wins.
• Both teams have been scoring consistently in their recent matches, with St. Louis City SC scoring in each of their last 5 games and Vancouver Whitecaps FC netting in their last 8. An outcome in which both teams score is likely.
• In their previous meet ups, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and St. Louis City SC both have 1 win each out of 2 games, with no draws.
• Both teams have showcased strong attacks in recent matches, as evidenced by their average 3.5 goals in previous matches.
• Given their recent stats, one could expect a few goals in the upcoming match as both teams have been consistent in scoring – especially so for Vancouver Whitecaps FC with their last 6 games ending with 2 or more goals.
• Despite Vancouver’s streak of games in which both teams score (BTTS), they will need to strengthen their defence against St. Louis City SC who are currently enjoying a good run of form away from home.
• Based on this season’s performance, Vancouver Whitecaps FC has done better in their home matches averaging 1.38 ppg as opposed to St. Louis City SC’s away performance with 0.63 ppg.
• However, St. Louis City SC has remained unbeaten in their last 3 away matches – a positive trend as they head into the upcoming match.
• For BTTS, Vancouver Whitecaps FC stands higher with a rate of 74% of all their matches this season, whereas St. Louis City SC’s rate for this season stands at around 59%.
• Vancouver Whitecaps FC, however, will be looking to improve upon a poor home game record, while St. Louis City SC will aim to overcome their very poor away performance history.
• All in all, this could potentially be a high scoring game at hand with both teams demonstrating strong offensive capabilities of late, but with Vancouver Whitecaps FC having the home-field advantage.

Match Forecast

• Both teams will likely produce a high-scoring game due to their strengths in creating scoring chances and finishing them.
• Vancouver Whitecaps FC may face challenges defending against St. Louis City SC’s counter-attacks and set pieces due to their defensive weaknesses.
• St. Louis City SC’s aggressive play style may lead to fouls in dangerous areas, providing opportunities for Vancouver Whitecaps FC to capitalize on set pieces, which they are strong at.
• Both teams are likely to apply strategies based on a lot of shots, crosses, and counter-attacks, resulting in a highly engaging match.
• Given St. Louis City SC’s weakness in keeping possession of the ball and Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s strength in stealing the ball, the latter may dominate ball possession.
• There might be a back-and-forth battle in the aerial duels as St. Louis City SC is strong at it, and due to the significant use of crosses by both teams.
• Vancouver Whitecaps FC may struggle to protect their lead if they score first due to their significant weakness in this area, presenting possible comeback opportunities for St. Louis City SC.
• The decision of St. Louis City SC to rotate their first eleven might influence the dynamics of the game, introducing unpredictability in their tactics and player performances.

Match Facts

In the previous season, the matches concluded with a 3-0 victory for Vancouver Whitecaps FC at home and a 3-1 win for Saint Louis City SC at their home ground. Were you aware that Vancouver Whitecaps FC net 35% of their overall goals in the 76-90 minute timeframe? Interestingly, Saint Louis City SC also scores a quarter of their goals between the 46 and 60 minute mark. They, however, have not secured a victory in their past 8 matches and worse, none in their previous 9 away. On the Vancouver front, they fell short of a score in 1 out of 8 home matches in this MLS season. Similarly, Saint Louis City didn’t net a goal in 2 out of 8 away competitions in MLS this season. Speaking of away games, Saint Louis City’s record sums up to 0 victories, 5 draws, and 3 losses. Vancouver’s lead scorer is Ryan Gauld with a total of 9 goals comparing to Joao Klauss of Saint Louis City who has scored 5. Unfortunately, Vancouver has let slip a goal in their past 9 matches. During the first half, Vancouver wins once in every 3 games and Saint Louis City only claims victory in about 1 out of 6 games. The last match saw Vancouver Whitecaps FC emerge victorious and they beat Saint Louis City SC by a hefty 3 goal margin. When Vancouver takes a lead of 1-0 at home, they manage to win in over half of their matches. However, when Saint Louis City takes a lead of 0-1 away, they manage to win in merely 20% of the games. When the tables are turned and Vancouver is down 0-1 at home, they have not tasted victory yet. Similarly, when Saint Louis City is behind 1-0 on foreign soil, they only win in about 1 out of 14 games. Overall, in MLS, Vancouver Whitecaps FC has outperformed Saint Louis City SC, especially considering their performances in the last 5 matches. Across the 3 previous meetings, there was 1 win each for both teams and 1 draw. On average, Vancouver scores approx 1.33 goals against Saint Louis City who manages to score 1. Coincidentally, the mean goal count for matches between Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Saint Louis City SC is 2.33. Neither team scored a victory in their last MLS match. Lastly, when comparing goals on their home and away grounds, Vancouver scores an average of 1.38 goals at home whereas Saint Louis City slams 1.29 goals when visiting.