Jasper Sorensen believes his squad is riding high on confidence and strong performances after enjoying a good run of positive results, the most recent of which was an emphatic 5-1 win over Austin FC.

The Vancouver Whitecaps cruised to a comfortable win at BC Place last weekend, powered by an incredible four-goal performance from Brian White.

The win extended their lead at the top of the table in the Western Conference standings, where they currently sit on 19 points, four ahead of second-placed Minnesota United.

White scored two goals either side of half-time in that game, while Emmanuel Sabbi added one in the second half. Daniel Pereira could only manage a stoppage-time consolation goal for the visitors.

Sorensen was full of praise for White, who now has six goals in seven MLS matches this season.

"It's difficult to rank, but it was a great, great performance. You see players have breakout games and extraordinary games, and Brian [White] had such one," Sorensen said.

"People are - players are - riding high on confidence and also riding high on good performances and also on joy after big victories, right? And going through in the Champions Cup gave us more energy."

Looking ahead to the next challenges against St. Louis and Inter Miami, Sorensen is confident his side will carry this momentum forward.  

"You can only hope for games like this, because you know what it does to a squad and to a group of players.

"You know, it builds confidence and everybody is happy. Everybody is feeling good, everybody feels that they're part of it.

"Football mainly and normally is a lot of struggles, to be honest. And the victories, they feel a lot, but losses, they feel way more.

"And I think that right now we’re so happy and fortunate that we are getting good results, and the players, they can really build confidence out of the results and also be even better connected as a group."

St. Louis City, meanwhile, are struggling, sitting 12th in the Western Conference standings, one point behind Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake.

They go into Saturday's match on the back of four straight losses to Philadelphia Union, Austin FC, Sporting Kansas City and Columbus Crew, leaving Olof Mellberg's side in a state of bother.

St. Louis have now lost four straight matches for the first time in club history, with three of these losses coming by a one-goal margin.

Mellberg's side had lost only three of their previous 13 matches prior to this run, picking up six wins and four draws.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White

On Saturday against Austin FC, White became the first player in Whitecaps history to score four goals in a regular-season MLS match.

The American now has 10 goals in all competitions across 13 games so far, averaging a goal every 98.7 minutes.

White's 52 goals with the Whitecaps are the third-most for a single MLS team since he joined the club in June 2021.

St. Louis City – Joao Klauss

Joao Klauss scored his first MLS goal of the season in St. Louis' loss to Columbus Crew last weekend. It was the Brazilian's first goal since May 2024.

Klauss opened the scoring in the seventh minute on Sunday, marking the 13th time that St. Louis City had scored in the opening 10 minutes of an MLS match, tied for the most of any team since the club joined the league in 2023.

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

While this will certainly be an entertaining affair, the Whitecaps are slight favourites given their record against St. Louis, but a draw could be more likely.

They have won three straight meetings with St. Louis City, scoring at least three goals in all three wins, after St. Louis won the first-ever meeting between the sides – a 3-1 win in May 2023.

Meanwhile, the Whitecaps' best start to an MLS season in club history continues (19 points from eight matches), marking only the second time that they have earned 19 points in any span of eight matches in a single season (also between June and July 2013).

Vancouver have raced out of the blocks impressively this season, and with six wins, one draw, and just one loss from their eight MLS matches so far, it could well be another positive evening for Sorensen's side.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

St. Louis City SC – 35.8%

Draw – 26.4%

Vancouver Whitecaps – 37.8%