PREVIEW: HFX Wanderers FC vs. Pacific FC – Match #19

Fresh off their bye week, Pacific FC will head out east to Halifax on Saturday for a rematch of their inaugural game with HFX Wanderers FC.

These two sides with similar records will try to get their Spring seasons back on track at Wanderers Grounds. Michael Silberbauer's Pacific haven't won since they beat HFX back on April 28, posting two losses and two draws since then. Most recently, they fell 2-1 to Cavalry FC in Canadian Championship action, just days after allowing York9 FC to overcome a two-goal deficit for a 2-2 draw at Westhills Stadium.

The Wanderers enter this match on little rest, having hosted York9 (a 1-1 draw) on Wednesday. Like Pacific, their only win this year came in their home opener, a dramatic 2-1 triumph over Forge FC on May 4. Their 1-1-3 record puts them a point back of their opponents in the standings, amid the congested middle of the league table (all five teams not called Cavalry or Forge are separated by just three points).

Pacific get another break after this contest, with no game until Saturday, June 15, when they visit York9 FC (1:00 p.m. ET, on OneSoccer). HFX, on the other hand, will stay busy. They kick off the next round of the Canadian Championship on Wednesday, at home against Valour FC (7:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. AT, on OneSoccer).

• 90-minute effort: Through five league matches, Pacific have struggled with being too much of a first-half team. Every goal they've scored in the CPL has come before the break, and they've let results slip a couple of times. York9 made their two-goal comeback shortly after halftime, and Valour found a late winner in the 78th minute. If Pacific get on the board in the first half, they'll need to ensure that they hold firm through the whole game (as they did in their last win over HFX).
• Impact striker: Luis Alberto Perea made his return to HFX's lineup on Wednesday against York9. While he didn't score one himself, he was instrumental in setting up Peter Schaale's equalizer. The Wanderers' attack develops differently with their star forward involved, which he wasn't last time they took on Pacific. This game could be a good opportunity for him to break out as one of the most dangerous strikers in the CPL.
• Youth movement: One of the major storylines surrounding Pacific this season is how much Michael Silberbauer has leaned on his young Canadian players. Kadin Chung, of course, is a key piece of the lineup, and Noah Verhoeven, Matthew Baldisimo, and Terran Campbell have all made their case for a regular starting spot. It'll be interesting to see if Silberbauer continues this trend on Saturday, or throws the Wanderers a curveball by mixing it up a little bit.

HFX Wanderers FC: Jan-Michael Williams; Ndzemdzela Langwa, Matthew Arnone, Peter Schaale, Andre Bona; Alex De Carolis, Elliot Simmons, Elton John, Akeem Garcia; Tomasz Skublak, Luis Alberto Perea Pacific FC: Mark Village; Kadin Chung, Lukas MacNaughton, Ryan McCurdy, Emile Legault; Matthew Baldisimo, Noah Verhoeven, Victor Blasco, Ben Fisk; Terran Campbell, Marcus Haber

Q: Will the team that scores first win the game? A: Typically when a home team scores first, they end up winning the match 70% of the time, and when the away team scores first, they end up winning the match 60% of the time. This is about as safe of a question that you’ll get for a prediction game. CanPL teams are 14-0-3 when scoring first so far this season, meaning that the next team to score first and lose the match will be the first to do so in the league’s history. Q: Will both teams use all three substitutions? A: With teams competing in the Canadian Championship alongside the league, using all three substitutions to rotate the squad and to sustain fitness levels will be an important factor going forward. It would be somewhat shocking to see a manager elect to not use all three substitutions during this part of the season. Q: What colour shirt will the refs wear? A: This is a question that requires more thinking than you would assume. You have to take into account what colour jerseys teams are likely to wear for these matchups, make sure that the refs’ jersey colour doesn’t clash with either of the team’s jerseys, and then put yourself in the refs shoes to think about if his choice of colour clashes with the rest of his outfit. Hint: yellow is a shirt colour which does not clash with a majority of the league.

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