| Vancouver FC vs. Cavalry FC July 24 at 7 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. MT The Stadium at Langley Events Centre in Langley, BC. Watch Live: OneSoccer, TSN Tickets available here |
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Two of the most in-form sides in the Canadian Premier League face off on Friday, as Vancouver FC hosts Cavalry FC at the Stadium at Langley Events Centre.
Certainly, the hosts enter this game filled with confidence, as Vancouver has won four of their last five CPL games and are fresh off a remarkable 5-1 road win over FC Supra du Québec.
Thanks to the emergence of their attack, which has powered them to score a remarkable 15 goals across that five-game stretch, they've started to turn a string of good performances into positive results.
All of a sudden, that has them surging up the table, as they currently sit in fourth place, allowing them to occupy the league's final playoff spot.
They face stiff competition from those below them, as the Halifax Wanderers are just one point behind them in fifth place, and Inter Toronto are four points behind them in sixth place, but if Vancouver can build on this run of form, they could create a bit of separation from both - and, given that they're just one point behind third-place Atlético Ottawa, they could also still push further up the table, too.
At the same time, they know that it won't be easy to find a win against this Cavalry side, one that has typically dominated them over the years. In fact, Vancouver has never beaten Cavalry across 90 minutes in their previous 16 meetings - although they did eliminate them from the 2025 Canadian Championship on penalties after a pair of 1-1 draws in their quarter-final tie last year.
Perhaps, though, with the form that they're in, this is the time they change that record, especially when seeing that they've won three straight CPL games at home.
"They're a very good team," Vancouver head coach Martin Nash, said of Cavalry. "They're the best team in the league defensively, so it's going to be a struggle to create chances. Not many teams have created a lot against them, so we're going to have to look at how we feel we can best create chances against them."
Cavalry, meanwhile, has been in pretty good form themselves in league play, having won six and drawn one of their last eight CPL matches. As a result, they sit comfortably in second place in the table, just four points behind Forge, and nine points ahead of third-place Atlético Ottawa.
They're coming off a frustrating home result, as they dropped two points in a 1-1 draw against the Halifax Wanderers, giving up the lead in that game after conceding a late goal. With Forge so far picking up 31 out of a possible 36 points in league play, those dropped points loom large in the title race for Cavalry.
As a result, they'll head to Langley hungry to avenge that result, which is bad news for Vancouver, given Cavalry's record against them.
At the same time, it can't be forgotten that six of the last eight meetings between these two ended in draws, and that one other match was decided by one goal - while this has been a one-sided series for Cavalry historically, it's gotten a lot closer lately.
What that shows, though, is why they'll head into this game aware of the threat that this Vancouver team poses, especially given the form that the Eagles are in.
"It's up to us to take that (confidence) away, and to kill their spirit, right?" Cavalry's head coach, Tommy Wheeldon Jr., said of Vancouver's confidence. "Football can change in the blink of an eye. So we've got to make sure that while we know we're facing a team full of confidence, and they're at home, we've got to earn the right to play, and that's all we ever do."
News and notes:
- Cavalry's Goteh Ntignee will miss this match due to a suspension for yellow card accumulation after picking up a yellow card against the Halifax Wanderers
- Cavalry's head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. is back behind his team's bench after missing the last game vs. the Halifax Wanderers due to commitments related to him acquiring his Concacaf Pro License.
- Vancouver's Damiano Pecile was named CPL player of the week after scoring a goal and earning an assist in his team's 5-1 win vs. Supra
- Vancouver's Emrick Fotsing was named to Canada's U20 squad for the Concacaf U20 Championship, which kicks off this weekend
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Vancouver FC: Irving; Doner, Campagna, Field, Proctor; Polisi, Pecile; Bah, Mezquida, Gee; Mousset
Cavalry FC: Ingham; Pearlman, Klomp, Didic, Kamdem; Paton, Kobza; Musse, Camargo, Herdman; Warschewski
KEY QUOTES
"I think it's just confidence. Once the ball started going in the back of the net, I think the players relaxed a little bit, and yeah, it's been coming (ever since). To start the season, I think it was three games without scoring a goal, which was difficult, but once we got that first one, we knew we could relax a little bit and start moving forward. Since we scored that first one, we've been scoring at a decent rate, and scoring those goals has been part of the reason why we've been picking up a lot more wins." -- Vancouver FC head coach Martin Nash
"We're a horrible team to play against. Any team that comes in with confidence, you better be better than us on both sides of the ball. I think what we're very good at is that when we don't have the ball, we're very good, gritty, and defensive. But if we're going to have the ball, we're going to hurt you in different ways as well." -- Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
