THREE THEMES

A TIRED CREW

The Crew are winless in their last six ( 0- 3- 3) after victories in their fi rst three games of the season and will be hungry to get a win at home. But they’re also playing their third game in seven days. “We’re exhausted, we’re tired of losing,” midfi elder Dominic Oduro said after Wednesday’s 1- 0 loss in Houston. The Crew also lost 2- 0 in Kansas City last Sunday. “We’ll be coming home, so we’ll have a little more energy, hopefully, that we’re playing in front of our home fans,” said midfi elder Ethan Finlay. The Caps, on the other hand will be rested, as manager Carl Robinson held most of his starters out of the lineup in Toronto on Wednesday in the fi rst leg of the Canadian championship. Robinson said he expects his club to “go in and give them everything they’ve got” in search of a fi rst road win in 2014.

THROW IT FORWARD

The Caps will miss the fi eld- opening speed of the injured Darren Mattocks, but Robinson likes the ability of his midfi eld attacking trio of Pedro Morales, Sebastian Fernandez and Kekuta Manneh to create scoring opportunities. Morales, the 28- year- old Chilean designated player, scored twice in last Saturday’s 3- 2 win over San Jose and has the skill set to make players around him better. Manneh’s quickness and willingness to go at defenders makes him a dangerous threat out on the left side. Both the Caps and the Crew rely on quick- passing, possession soccer and like to get their fullbacks involved in the attack. That should create lots of room for wingers on both teams and lead to a high- tempo entertaining contest.

A CLEAN SHEET?

The Caps are in the bottom third of the league with just one clean sheet in nine games. That came in a Week 3 0- 0 draw in New England. Goalkeeper David Ousted, who had four shutouts in 13 games last season, has played every minute of every game so far, but shouldn’t shoulder all the blame for Vancouver’s mediocre showing at keeping balls out of the net — 12 goals allowed in nine games. Defensive coverage in the box has been shaky at times and the midfi eld has been guilty of failing to track back on runners. “We’re probably still fi nding our way a little bit in terms of consistency over a 90- minute period,” says veteran centre back Andy O’Brien.