Last Home Game Before Leagues Cup – Rapids vs Whitecaps Preview

Commerce City, CO — The Rapids return home to face the Vancouver Whitecaps after a quick road trip to LA midweek. It was a continuation of the poor form at BMO Stadium as an early Jackson Travis red card hurt any chance of a positive result. It was not the response that Chris Armas would have wanted from his team after the July 4th loss to Sporting KC. Colorado has now gone three straight winless and one win in the last seven. Colorado (10th place, 7-5-10, 26 points) will face Vancouver (2nd place, 11-5-4, 38 points) in the Rapids’ last home MLS match before Leagues Cup. Dipping under the playoff line after the LAFC match, points are going to be more and more crucial in the later stages of the year. It has to come soon, right? Let’s take a look at the matchup.

When: Saturday, July 12th @ 7:30 p.m. MST

Where: DICK’s Sporting Goods Park

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

Controversial Calls Sink Rapids in LA:

Going into BMO Stadium and getting a result has seemed impossible for the Rapids in the few years that the two teams have coincided. This did not change on Wednesday. Zero wins in nine games at LAFC, outscored 26-2 on aggregate. Any hope of a result for Colorado was quickly stopped by head ref Jair Marrufo with a red card to Jackson Travis six minutes in. The homegrown defender had an aerial collision Sergi Palencia with an elbow to the face of the opponent. Jair Murrufo was quick to pull out the red on Travis, who looked completely bewildered by the decision, along with fans and commentators. The referee was not so quick to give any LAFC players even a caution on any of their 20 fouls, including an elbow to Cole Bassett that left the midfielder with a shiner.

However, Murrufo was not done on the night. LAFC grew frustrated by the Rapids’ defensive block that kept them off the board until the 40th minute. Then, Bouanga drew a penalty on a play that appeared to have minimal to no contact between Bouanga and either Reggie Cannon or Andreas Maxsø. The penalty was scored by the Gabon international, and it all fell apart for Colorado quickly from there. Two well-worked goals in the second half gave the game a familiar dread that usually comes from a trip to BMO Stadium.

It would have been a really interesting game, with Colorado in a new 4-4-2 diamond formation, and LAFC trying to claw back some form after an abysmal Club World Cup stint. Would Colorado have won the game if Murrufo hadn’t given either the red card or the penalty? Probably not, but who knows? Maybe the Rapids break their duck in LA and take the confidence into Vancouver at home. But Colorado will have to live in the reality where that didn’t happen, and gear up to face Vancouver with Seattle looming in the distance. There isn’t much good or bad to take away from a game where you were reduced to ten men so early.

A New Formation that Saw 15 Minutes:

Max Bretos was not wrong when he said to expect Colorado to switch up their formation early after starting the match in a 4-4-2 diamond. It was a look that lasted just six minutes before they used Oli Larraz as a makeshift left-back. Nine minutes later, Yapi was pulled for Rosenberry. Colorado turned to a 4-4-1 flat formation to try to see out the match.

Before the forced switch to a defensive ten-man look for Colorado, the diamond was an intriguing choice from Chris Armas. It has similar personnel to the 4-2-2-2 formation. This works in the diamond’s favor. Similar to the 4-2-2-2, which allowed Colorado to field their best eleven players, albeit not in their preferred positions. This is fixed in the 4-4-2 diamond, as you get to keep the striker partnership of Yapi and Navarro up top, but don’t have to sacrifice Djordje or Cole and put them in a position outside their preferred ones. Cole Bassett had not been played in his preferred center midfield role all season. This allowed him to dictate the game on the ball through the middle third, while keeping Mihailović central with two strikers.

On paper, the formation looks to get players in spots to succeed. It will all have to come down to how the team actually plays in the formation, as we didn’t really get to see it in action against LAFC. The formation lacks a wide presence without having to push wingbacks high up the field. The look screams Sammy Vines attacking down the left. But it is a really interesting time to bring out a formation without wingers. Ted Ku-DiPietro and Calvin Harris had been balling for Colorado in recent fixtures, and looked to provide a spark when they subbed in against LAFC. The 4-4-2 diamond wasn’t used for long, but it could see some use and success. Especially with the needed rotation in the coming months.

Lineup Prediction:

Steffen / Vines, Awaziem, Maxsø (c), Cannon / C. Bassett, Atencio / C. Harris, Mihailović, Ku-DiPietro / Navarro

Colorado has healed throughout this week. Both Zack Steffen and Sam Vines have been full participants in training leading up to Vancouver. I would expect both of them to start on Saturday, especially with Jackson Travis out with a suspension. This may signal the end of Nico Hansen’s stint as Colorado’s starting goalkeeper. A pleasant surprise this season, but it is hard to justify benching Steffen for Hansen. It is great to have a solid backup in net, however, and the Rapids have that in Hansen.

The biggest unknown going into the Vancouver game is the formation. It will be interesting to see if Chris Armas will go with the 4-4-2 diamond again after an abrupt end to the tactic in LA. There is a real possibility that it is a look designed with LAFC in mind, and is never implemented again. Rotation could also come into play, with this being the third of four games in a two-week stretch. I would not be surprised to see wingers start against Vancouver. I would also expect the 4-4-2 diamond to make an appearance at some point in the remainder of the season.

Alongside the formation choices, it will be interesting to see where Cole Bassett plays on Saturday. He was going to play in a similar role to his preferred one before the Travis red. If the team goes back to either the 4-2-2-2 or 4-2-3-1, Armas will have to make room for Bassett by dropping either Oli Larraz or Josh Atencio. We could also see him play out wide instead of a winger. Personally, I would like to see him alongside Atencio in the 4-2-3-1. This would give Bassett back his preferred role, and give the midfield duo of Larraz and Atencio some much-needed rest.

Vancouver’s Stumble After CCC Final Loss:

Going into June, Vancouver seemed to be the clear and far-away favorites to win the West and challenge for the Supporters’ Shield. While they are still in a great position to do both, they have experienced a dip in form that has allowed others to catch up in the standings. Vancouver had only lost two games before June, and only once in MLS play. Then, they lost 5-0 to Cruz Azul in the Concacaf Champions Cup final. Since then, they have suffered three losses in their last six. Including a 3-0 loss to the bottom of the West LA Galaxy, in their previous MLS match. Vancouver also lost their heavyweight clash against San Diego FC, which has allowed the expansion team to leapfrog them into first in the table.

So, what has caused this dip in form from the high-flying Vancouver side? The biggest reason comes from the side effects of having a good season: the team gets picked apart during international windows. The team lost nine players due to the international window that coincided with the Gold Cup. This included players like Ali Ahmed, Brian White, and Sebastian Berhalter. These absences are particularly challenging to fill, given the extended international window. A dip in form is expected with a dip in available players.

Unfortunately for Colorado, Vancouver should have all of their stars back on Saturday. It should be a similar team that beat the Rapids 2-0 in Vancouver. Colorado felt thoroughly outplayed in the loss against Vancouver back in April and will have to show some growth since then to make more of a game of it in Colorado. Vancouver is not the team you would want to face when trying to get out of a rut. But if Colorado can win, it’s a win that can turn around their season. It’ll be a much-needed result for Colorado if they can do so.

Prediction: Colorado can’t turn things around against Vancouver, and the downturn in form continues. Vancouver comes to Colorado and wins 2-1.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

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