Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Jasper Sorensen hopes his side have used the week-long Leagues Cup break to recharge ahead of a "tricky" stage of the season.

With just 10 matches remaining, Vancouver sit second in the Western Conference with a chance to go to the top of the table as they visit PayPal Park to take on the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.

The Whitecaps' last MLS match saw them comfortably brush aside Sporting Kansas City 3-0, extending their unbeaten streak to three and placing them just one point behind first-placed San Diego FC.

Goals from Emmanuel Sabbi, J.C. Ngando, and Mathias Laborda paved the way for Vancouver's dominant victory, and Sorensen stressed after the match that further challenges lie ahead for his team. 

"Right now is a tricky part of the season, because we are in a good spot, but we also used a lot of energy so far, played 35 games," Sorensen said.

"And players, now they will get a week off because they need a break. Some of them have played Gold Cup, some of them played Austin this mid-week. So they need some time off also.

"I think that now it's a good time just to get a little bit of rest and then come back fresh. And then we're ready to really attack the last bit of the season."

The Whitecaps' first challenge back is against San Jose, who are coming off a frustrating 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake. 

Braian Ojeda's dramatic late winner handed Real Salt Lake the win over 10-man Earthquakes after an own goal by Jamar Ricketts brought them back into the game.

Josef Martinez broke the deadlock for San Jose in the 51st minute, but Ricketts' own goal quickly deflated their confidence, spurring RSL on to grab the winner late on via Ojeda.

The loss left the Earthquakes in 10th place in the West, just a point outside the play-off spots. With 10 games left in the season, Bruce Arena's side still have a slight chance of pushing themselves up the table.

"It's really frustrating, to be honest. We're working really hard, but it's not enough," Arena conceded after the loss to RSL.

"Everyone has to step up a little bit more in the team, including myself. We have to try to do things better and go back to the basics, and go back to how we played at the beginning of the season with that intensity.

"It's very clear. When everybody is engaged in the same way, with the same intensity, it's a different team."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

San Jose Earthquakes – Josef Martinez

Martinez scored his 133rd regular-season MLS goal in his last match against RSL – the sixth-most goals by any player in league history.

Of the 13 players in MLS history with 100+ regular-season goals, Martinez is the only one who has debuted in the league within the last 10 seasons.

Vancouver Whitecaps – J.C. Ngando

Ngando scored his second league goal of the season in Vancouver's 3-0 rout over Sporting Kansas City.

He is one of 10 Whitecaps players with multiple MLS goals this season, the most of any team in the league.

MATCH PREDICTION: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN

In 2024, Vancouver notched a pair of 2-0 victories over San Jose. The Whitecaps have never won three straight MLS matches against the Earthquakes and have never had shutout victories in three straight games against any MLS opponent.

But Sorensen's side picked up their third shutout victory by at least three goals this season with a 3-0 rout of Sporting KC. The only other time the Whitecaps had at least three such games in a single regular season was 2015, when they registered four three-goal shutout victories.

The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are winless in six straight matches in MLS play (D3 L3) despite scoring at least once in each match. That is tied for the longest such streak within a single season in team history (two different streaks in 2018).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

San Jose – 29.8%

Draw – 24.8%

Vancouver – 45.4%