FIVE KEYS to the game

1 The old heads

In Kei Kamara and his former Houston Dynamo teammate Chris Wondolowski, we’ll see a battle between the two leading active MLS goal-scorers. Kamara is in a tie for sixth (108) while Wondo is just four behind the career leader, Landon Donovan, with 141. It’s the tail end of Wondolowski’s career — he’s in his 15th season — but he’s no less lethal. He’s second on the team with seven goals, getting the Earthquakes’ lone tally in a 1-1 home tie with Toronto last week after coming on as a substitute for the fourth straight game. The all-time leader in goals for a single club (137), his score against Toronto was a pure poachers’ goal. After his initial shot from 11 yards out was stopped, he jumped on the rebound and chipped it over Toronto goalkeeper Alex Bono. “It’s typical Wondo fashion,” Reds’ fullback Jason Hernandez, his teammate in San Jose for six years, told reporters after the game. “The only person who can get to that rebound is him. For some reason, he just happens to be there. It’s never luck, it’s the fact that he gambles and he takes the chance.”

2 Can’t get no respect, but should

The Earthquakes are in a deep chasm, with the worst record in MLS and three fewer wins than the next closest teams. But if May’s 2-2 draw — a game the visitors to BC Place had chances to win — draw didn’t teach the Whitecaps, perhaps this will: Of San Jose’s 13 losses, 11 have come by a single goal.

3 New faces for ’Quakes

These aren’t your granddad’s San Jose Earthquakes. Heck, they’re not even the ’Quakers of 2017. Since GM Jesse Fioranelli was brought in to reshape the team two years ago, only seven players from that era remain: Former Whitecap Shea Salinas — who won’t play Saturday, after getting an added suspension from DisCo midweek — Nick Lima, Anibal Gody, Andrew Tarbell, Quincy Amarikwa, Tommy Thompson and Wondolowski.

4 Parsing the numbers

Both sides have strengths that dominate their opposite number’s weaknesses. Vancouver doesn’t have great accuracy (78.3 per cent, third worst) or possession ability (45.2 per cent, last), while the ’Quakes excel at stepping into passing lanes and disrupting the other team’s offence. They lead the league with 15.7 interceptions per game, and while Vancouver is known for long balls, they’re actually in the bottom four in that category. But San Jose has shown it is susceptible to counter-attacks and set pieces, both among the Caps’ strengths.

5 Something has to give ... or not

Both San Jose and Vancouver are on streaks they’d like to break. The Whitecaps have never won in San Jose, going winless in nine games while being outscored 11-7. The ’Quakes, meanwhile, haven’t won at Avaya Stadium since the opening weekend, going winless in 10 straight (0-5-5) — tying a team record that dates back to 1996. Their points total at home is 10 fewer than the next closest team. But it’s possible both streaks could continue, as six of their nine games have ended in ties.