Galaxy-Whitecaps FC Preview

While Vancouver looks to set a club record for consecutive victories, the Los Angeles Galaxy try to end their worst drought away from home since before the Whitecaps even existed.

Vancouver can record a fourth straight victory by pushing the reigning MLS champions' road winless streak to nine Saturday night.

The Whitecaps (3-1-0) opened with a 3-1 home defeat to Toronto FC, then received some late-match heroics to defeat Chicago, Orlando City and Portland to win three straight for the fourth time in the five-year history of the club.

After Octavio Rivero scored in the 86th minute against the Fire and in stoppage time at Orlando to give Vancouver consecutive 1-0 victories, recently acquired forward Robert Earnshaw came through in the 90th minute of a 2-1 home win over the Timbers last Saturday.

Though the Whitecaps have prevailed while living on the edge, coach Carl Robinson knows they must continue to make strides in order to be a more complete team.

"We can get better every day," Robinson said. "We're always a work in progress. ... This will be a good test to see where we are five games in."

Vancouver is 0-4-1 against the Galaxy (1-1-2) since winning 3-1 at home May 11, 2013 - its only victory in 12 all-time meetings (1-9-2).

Robinson also isn't reading too much into the fact that Los Angeles is 0-1-2 since opening with a 2-0 win over Chicago.

"They're going to be exactly the same as last year," Robinson told the Whitecaps' official website of coach Bruce Arena's Galaxy. "They're a top team with a top manager and top players.

"If you listen to Bruce, it's about getting in the playoffs. Because if you get into the playoffs, you have a chance of winning the MLS Cup and that's exactly what they did (in 2014)."

Arena doesn't seem too concerned with those early struggles or that his club has totaled seven goals while going 0-4-4 on the road since a 3-0 victory over Chivas USA on Aug. 31, when it played as the away side at the stadium it shared with the now-defunct club. Los Angeles' most recent league victory outside California came 11 days earlier, 4-3 at Colorado.

That eight-game road drought is Los Angeles' longest since an 0-7-8 stretch spanning the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

"We just have to go out and play and go out and score more goals," Arena told the Galaxy's official website. "We just need to get out and play and have better concentration at the end of games when we can get points.

"When you're playing on the road in the sport of soccer, if you get a point that's valuable and if you get three points, that's a terrific result."

The Galaxy appeared in position to earn at least a point on the road last Saturday before Chris Pontius' stoppage-time goal gave D.C. United a 1-0 win.

Los Angeles played that match without reigning league MVP Robbie Keane and fellow forward Gyasi Zardes, who have three of the team's five goals but were away on international duty. Both are expected to be ready for this contest.

Keane has two goals and two assists in his last three matches against the Whitecaps.