Vancouver Whitecaps vs. San Jose Earthquakes – MLS, October 24, 2020

Just three points separate Vancouver and San Jose in the Western Conference as the two sides prepare to face off at Providence Park on Saturday, October 25.

An eye-catching run of one defeat in six games sees the Quakes lead the Caps. Let’s not forget the Californians also beat the Canadians 3-0 at Avaya Stadium earlier in the month.

If you’re interested in wagering on this game, be sure to check out my Vancouver Whitecaps vs. San Jose Earthquakes prediction and betting pick.

With this game being played at Portland’s Providence Park, there is now home advantage to take into account on Saturday. The bookies’ odds simply reflect the form of the two teams.

10bet views San Jose (2.15) as the favorite to win this one, although Vancouver (3.00) will fancy their chances of at least snatching a draw (3.70).

I assess both sides’ chances below.

Remarkably, Vancouver remains the only team in MLS without a draw to their name this year. Seven wins and 12 defeats have left the Caps hanging on to a top-eight spot by the skin of their teeth, although they are only three points ahead of bottom-club LA Galaxy.

Marc Dos Santos’ side has enjoyed a series of mixed results in October. The Canadians began the month with back-to-back defeats against Seattle Sounders (3-1) and San Jose (3-0), before securing two straight victories over Real Salt Lake (2-1) and LAFC (2-1).

The British Columbia club was on the verge of securing their first draw of the campaign last weekend, but a last-gasp Kai Koreniuk strike handed the Galaxy all three points.

If the Whitecaps are to get anything from their upcoming outing, they will need Lucas Cavallini to carry his form into the weekend. The striker has netted three goals in his last three appearances, including a double against LAFC.

It's not just one player.

It's an entire team effort.

This season, we've had 15 different goal scorers. pic.twitter.com/8V2GTpC2J1

— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) October 20, 2020

Meanwhile, San Jose has been climbing up the standings in recent weeks. Three straight wins across late September and early October saw the Quakes revive their season, before Portland Timbers ended the team’s resurgence.

But it didn’t take long for Matias Almeyda’s men to return to winning ways. San Jose thrashed the Galaxy 4-0 last week, with Nick Lima bagging a brace. There were also goals for Andres Rios and Tommy Thompson, as the Quakes completely dominated the California Clasico.

Almeyda’s men faced a seriously tough test against Seattle Sounders on Sunday, but they managed to hold the conference leaders to a goalless draw. In fact, San Jose limited Seattle to just a single shot on target, so Almeyda will probably be slightly disappointed that his side didn’t claim all three points.

All in all, it’s been a phenomenal few weeks for the Quakes.

After winning four of their last six games and holding the Sounders to a draw, San Jose should cruise past Vancouver on Saturday. The Quakes claimed a comfortable 3-0 win in this fixture less than three weeks ago, and I’m expecting a similar scoreline this time around.

Ultimately, the Caps’ inability to draw games has prevented the team from gathering any sort of momentum this year.