Ryan Gauld says Vancouver Whitecaps will not treat the visit of San Jose Earthquakes as an "easy game" as they look to get back to winning ways in MLS.

Vancouver have lost just one of their last eight league matches but fired a blank for just the second time at home this season in a 0-0 draw with FC Dallas last time out.

They sit sixth in the Western Conference, but a win, coupled with defeats for Seattle Sounders and Colorado Rapids, could see them move up the table.

Gauld is prepared for a tough fight though, despite how it looks on paper.

"We've got to treat it like any other game," said the captain. "They're at the bottom, but they've still got a lot of good players that can hurt us if we're not at our best.

"If you look at the standings, someone can say that [Saturday] is an easy game. But it's not. We need to play a very good game."

San Jose have won only five games this season, though one of those came in their last road match, beating high-flying Real Salt Lake 2-0.

Interim head coach Ian Russell is hoping they can build on that result as they try to finish the season on a high.

"It's going to be a good road trip for us to play quality opponents," Russell said. "It's a place where we won last year, and we'll look to get a result again.

"We need to start better in Vancouver than we did in our last game [against Minnesota United]. We have to go out on the front foot and try to put them under pressure. We have to get points on the road now, and it's going to be a really good test for us."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Vancouver Whitecaps – Mathias Laborda

Vancouver's goalless draw with Dallas on Saturday marked just the second time they failed to score in a home match this regular season (0-0 vs. Austin on May 4).

It was not for lack of trying though, as they had 21 shots (though just four on target). Mathias Laborda had five of those efforts, creating 0.4 expected goals, though only tested the goalkeeper with one of those.

San Jose Earthquakes – Ousseni Bouda

Ousseni Bouda scored the Earthquakes' lone goal in their defeat to Minnesota United on August 31.

Bouda is the seventh different player to score one of San Jose's last seven MLS goals dating back to June 19, as no 'Quakes player has more than one goal in league play in that time.

MATCH PREDICTION: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN

The Whitecaps ended a five-match winless run against San Jose (D2 L3) with a 2-0 road win on March 9. Vancouver have only recorded consecutive wins over the Earthquakes once in the last nine years, doing so during the 2018 season.

Vancouver have lost only one of their last eight regular season matches (W5 D2) following a scoreless draw with Dallas on Saturday. The Whitecaps have kept consecutive clean sheets in league play for the first time since October 2023.

However, San Jose defeated Real Salt Lake, 2-0, in their last away match on August 24, just the fourth win in the 'Quakes' last 42 away matches in all competitions. San Jose last won consecutive away matches in all competitions in July 2019, with the second of those being a 3-1 win in Vancouver.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Vancouver Whitecaps – 61.8%

Draw – 20.2%

San Jose Earthquakes – 18%

Caleb Porter praised his "evolving" New England Revolution side as they prepare to face Vancouver Whitecaps on the back of consecutive wins.

In their opening 13 games, New England only had two wins on the board in the Eastern Conference, sitting bottom with seven points.

Though they still prop up the standings, they are now on 13 points after wins over Nashville SC and New York Red Bulls, with Porter hopeful they can keep building on this momentum.

"The biggest key is our mentality has been stronger," Porter said, as quoted in The Blazing Musket substack.

"We're finding ways to get results. That evolution, I'm very pleased with, so I think, for me, it's unquestionable, we're evolving in every aspect."

"We know we're in a hole, there's no doubt about it. We have to continue to fight our way out, and it's going to take every game, and it's going to take until the end of the season."

Vancouver, meanwhile, are fifth in the Western Conference after back-to-back victories of their own against Sporting Kansas City and Colorado Rapids.

After their mid-season break, Vanni Sartini is aiming to improve on some of the weaknesses shown in the first half of the campaign.

"I think we did okay [in the first half]," he said. "We're doing well. I think that we were doing very well defensively - I'd say the best in my years as head coach here.

"I think we can do a little more in the final third. We are playing well, but we need to be better at finishing the action more. If we can do that, we can aspire to go to the top four positions."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New England Revolution – Carles Gil

Gil assisted Emmanuel Boateng on the lone goal of the match in New England's win Saturday. The Spaniard has been involved in seven (five goals, two assists) of the Revs’ 12 goals this season.

Vancouver Whitecaps – Ryan Gauld

Gauld assisted both of Vancouver's goals in their win over Colorado on June 1, taking him to 31 assists to go along with 30 goals in regular-season play.

The Scotsman is one of three players (Luciano Acosta, Hany Mukhtar) with at least 30 goals and 30 assists since he joined the MLS in August 2021.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

The Revolution have lost only two of their 11 all-time meetings with Vancouver (W5 D4), including winning four of the six meetings at Gillette Stadium (D1 L1).

New England have also won back-to-back matches for the first time since July last year after winning just two of their first 13 league matches this season. All four of New England's wins this year have been by a one-goal margin.

Meanwhile, the Whitecaps have won back-to-back matches, recording 2-1 wins against Sporting Kansas City and Colorado Rapids. This is Vancouver's sixth set of consecutive wins since the start of last season, though they have not won three league matches in a row since September-October 2022.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New England Revolution – 38.6%

Draw – 26.5%

Vancouver Whitecaps – 34.9%

Vanni Sartini enjoys being able to take a different approach to their match against Colorado Rapids, as he does so following a win.

The Whitecaps snapped a six-match winless run in MLS last time out, seeing out a 2-1 victory against Sporting Kansas City in midweek.

It moves them up to sixth in the Western Conference, where they will have the chance to keep their name in the mix at the top with another win.

Sartini was upbeat following their victory, but was quick to point out they would not be thinking about that result for too long.

"The good vibes [after the win] ended on Friday morning. Then we start thinking about Colorado, but we think about it in a completely different way after a win," Sartini said.

"If we beat them, we get away from them [in the table] and it would put us in a good position going into the [international] break. It's a completely different feeling, but we're very happy to approach the game in this way."

Colorado are also on 26 points, only behind Vancouver due to their inferior goal difference.

The Rapids have won only one of their last five outings, and head coach Chris Armas admits there is still work to be done if they want to get back to winning ways.

"We're a work in progress," he said. "We're going to make mistakes, we have a fairly young squad, so we will make mistakes, and we need to work on that."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Vancouver Whitecaps – Ryan Gauld

Gauld scored his fourth regular-season brace in Vancouver's win at Kansas City on Wednesday.

That saw him equal Eric Hassli, Fredy Montero, and Pedro Morales for the second-most multi-goal games for the Whitecaps, behind only Camilo Sanvezzo (eight).

Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic

Mihailovic has been involved in a goal in five of his last six MLS appearances (two goals, three assists), including the last three in a row.

The American has recorded a goal contribution in four straight appearances once before in his MLS career, doing so with CF Montreal between September and October 2021.

MATCH PREDICTION: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN

The Whitecaps have lost only one of their last nine matches against the Rapids in Vancouver (won four, drawn four) dating back to October 2014, including going unbeaten in the last three at BC Place (won one, drawn two).

However, Vancouver have lost two of their last three home matches, including a 2-1 defeat to Inter Miami on Saturday.

The Whitecaps have suffered back-to-back home defeats in MLS only once since returning to BC Place in 2021, doing so in July 2022 against Minnesota United and Chicago Fire.

Colorado have lost their last two away matches, conceding eight goals along the way. The Rapids had lost only one of their previous six on the road (won three, drawn two), allowing a total of six goals in those games.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Vancouver Whitecaps – 50.3%

Draw – 25.1%

Colorado Rapids – 24.5%