The Vancouver Whitecaps are hosting DC United in a rare matchup between the two sides, with both sides set to miss players due to the international window.

Here's everything you need to know heading into the game.

How the Vancouver Whitecaps enter this match

It was a very good showing last week for the Whitecaps; they cruised to a 3-0 win away from home against a short-handed Real Salt Lake side, with Brian White, Thomas Müller, and Yadaly Diaby all finding the back of the net.

Currently five points clear at the top of the Western Conference, the 'Caps are eight points behind Nashville SC for the MLS Supporters' Shield, so they have to take the win tonight if they want to keep them in their sights.

How DC United enters this match

DC United didn't look good at home last week; they fell to Charlotte FC 2-1, with Ashley Westwood and Allan Saint-Maximin finding the back of the net for the visitors, while Lucas Bartlett scored for the hosts.

Currently sitting eleventh in the Eastern Conference, the visitors will need to record a win to keep their playoff hopes alive: they sit four points behind both Red Bull New York and FC Cincinnati, who hold the two wildcard spots.

Head-to-head

This will be the eleventh meeting between these two sides, with the visiting DC holding a 5-3-3 lead against the Whitecaps, with the series at BC Place Stadium sitting at 2-3-2.

The last meeting happened in 2023 at BC Place Stadium, when Brian White and Ryan Gauld's strikes were cancelled out by goals from Christian Benteke and Mateusz Klich in a 2-2 draw.

Players to watch

Serbian midfielder Aleksa Cvetković will play an important role. The U-22 Initiative signing from OFK Beograd has managed only one appearance, but with Andrés Cubas representing Paraguay in friendlies and Jeevan Badwal ruled out with a hamstring injury, Cvetković will likely be thrown into midfield alongside Oliver Larraz. If there was any game to introduce yourself to the Whitecaps faithful truly, it's this one.

One of the bigger signings in the summer for DC United is 22-year-old Salvadoran international Nathan Ordaz. However, in the eleven matches he's played, the forward hasn't produced the stats to back his near $3,000,000 price tag after being acquired from LAFC, with only one assist. He was supposed to be unavailable for this game, but due to a personal matter with the club, he will join the El Salvador national team following tonight's game, so it's a big chance for him to prove himself with DC's main attacking options unavailable.

Availability

For Vancouver, Jeevan Badwal, Kenji Cabrera, and Belal Halbouni will miss out due to injury. Andrés Cubas, Yadaly Diaby, Rayan Elloumi, Mihail Gherasimencov, Édier Ocampo, and Ralph Priso are all unavailable after being called up to their respective national teams. Cheikh Sabaly enters the game as questionable due to illness. The good news is that both Kwasi Poku and Ranko Veselinović are off the injury list and available, with Poku ready for the first time since signing in the summer.

For DC, they will be missing Gabe Segal due to injury. Tai Baribo, Louis Munteanu, and Matti Peltola have been selected by their national teams and won't be available for tonight's match.

Projected XIs

TrueNorthFoot projects the following line-ups for each side.

Vancouver Whitecaps (4-2-3-1): Yohei Takaoka; Tate Johnson, Tristan Blackmon, Mathías Laborda, Rui Modesto; Oliver Larraz, Aleksa Cvetković; Emmanuel Sabbi, Thomas Müller, Ryan Gauld (c); Brian White

DC United (4-3-3): Sean Johnson; Keisuke Kurokawa, Kye Rowles, Lucas Bartlett (c), Kimito Nono; Peglow, Andre Dozzell, Brandon Servania; Jared Stroud, Jackson Hopkins, Nathan Ordaz

Game information and how to watch

📆 Saturday, September 26, 2026
⏰ 7:30 pm PT / 10:30 pm ET
📺 Apple TV
🧑‍⚖️ Fotis Bazakos
🏟 BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, Canada