**St. Louis City are absolutely rolling, and Vancouver are walking into the gauntlet.** The hosts haven't dropped a match in five games — that's 4 wins and a draw to set the tone at Energizer Park 🔥

Vancouver are banged up and struggling to find rhythm: just 1 win in their last 5, and they're missing four players to injury. St. Louis won't need much of an excuse to punish that here.

Key storylines:

- **St. Louis City's attacking swagger** — six goals past LA Galaxy and three past New York. That firepower is relentless right now.
- **Vancouver's depth crisis** — Badwal, Cabrera, Adekugbe, and Müller all sidelined. The Whitecaps are stretched thin on bodies.
- **Head-to-head wildcard** — Vancouver have actually owned this fixture recently (4 wins in the last 7 H2Hs), but form says that era's over.

Expected lineups:

- **St. Louis City**: R. Bürki, T. Baumgartl, D. Polvara, L. MacNaughton, D. Edelman, C. Durkin, C. Wallem, T. Totland, R. Navarro, S. Becher, J. Sang-bin
- **Vancouver Whitecaps**: Y. Takaoka, T. Johnson, T. Blackmon, A. Cubas, É. Ocampo, O. Larraz, R. Gauld, B. White, E. Sabbi, M. Laborda, Y. Diaby

Prediction:

**St. Louis City 3, Vancouver 1.** The hosts have a clear edge and should close this out with their attack firing on all cylinders.