Vancouver Whitecaps vs Charlotte FC Prediction: Trust Neither Team.

Vancouver Whitecaps are playing their first game in the new season and they take on Charlotte FC at the BC Place. Charlotte FC had already won their opening game of the campaign against New York City and they are looking ahead to game 2.

Both clubs played against each other in the MLS Preseason, but the fixture was later canceled.

The Whitecaps have had a longer period to prepare ahead of the new season and hopefully it was worth it. They played their final preseason game against San Jose Earthquakes almost 2 weeks ago. The game ended in a 1-1 draw and Jean-Claude Nagando scored the equalizing goal to bring the game level after Tanner Beason put The Earthquakes ahead.

The Whitecaps had a very rough preseason campaign and they also crashed out of the CONCACAF Champions League after losing 3-0 to Tigres. These poor results will surely cause anxiety in the club ahead of the new season and The Whitecaps coach Vanni Sartini will need to make serious decisions on how to turn the club's fortunes around. He is most likely going to play a 3-4-1-2 formation in the opening game against Charlotte FC. Ryan Gauld was a key player for the Whitecaps last season as he bagged 11 goals and 13 assists in 34 games. He's not been able to play to his best throughout the preseason and CONCACAF Champions League games, but hopefully he can get the ground running on the opening day.

Charlotte FC will be optimistic of getting the win in this game. They are not a perfect team but against The Whitecaps, there's every reason for them to believe in their abilities.

Charlotte FC defeated New York City by 1-0 in the first game and Adilson Malanda scored the only goal in the 8th minute. Kerwin Calderon Vargas had the opportunity to double the lead from the penalty spot in the 66th minute, but his shot was saved by the New York City goalkeeper. Despite the win, Charlotte FC looked terrible in possession as they had only 38% but they had 5 shots on target. They also had 3 goal scoring chances and registered 7 shots in the opponent's box. Adilson Malanda had a solid game at the backline and he was the best player on the pitch for Charlotte. He made 5 interceptions and 3 successful tackles in that game.

Charlotte FC and Vancouver Whitecaps have played only 1 game against each other. That was back in May 2022 and Charlotte FC won the game by 2-1.

I think both sides are not in their brightest form at the moment. Charlotte FC were not convincing in their opening game and there's no reason for them to feel very confident ahead of this game. The Whitecaps on the other hand are well aware of their present form and I expect Vanni Sartini to be working round the clock to get the team working again.

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