Two teams trying to stay in the playoff race meet Saturday night when Orlando City (8-10-7, 31 points) hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps (10-9-5, 35 points) for the first time this season.

The Whitecaps are holding onto the sixth and final playoff spot in the West by two points, but they have two games in hand entering the 7:30 p.m. matchup at Orlando City Stadium. The Lions are in eighth place and trying to scratch their way up two spots above the Eastern Conference cut line.

Lions coach Jason Kreis remains confident and positive about the team’s commitment, saying, “The mentality and the spirit of the group has been second to none. And I really believe what I say and say what I believe in that I think we’re very, very close and have to count ourselves very, very unfortunate that over the past four or five matches now, we haven’t picked up a lot more points.”

Orlando City captain Kaká returns after a serving a red card suspension last week against Columbus. Striker Dom Dwyer also trained in full all week, though he still is required to wear a mask to protect his recently-injured nose.

Dwyer had surgery two weeks ago to repair a small break that caused breathing issues. He subbed on in the second half of last week’s match and ripped his mask off shortly after.

“I don’t think the docs were too happy. I’m supposed to play with it for a while,” Dwyer said. “It’s supposed to be five or six weeks…I’ll just kind of go for it and see how it goes, but the breathing is getting better.”

Saturday’s game could return Brek Shea to Orlando City’s pitch. The former Lion was traded to Vancouver for Giles Barnes in February. Shea spent two seasons in Orlando. He scored three goals and had two assists across 27 appearances last season before the trade.

Vancouver is coming off a Wednesday night draw against the Seattle Sounders. Fredy Montero scored the equalizer for the Whitecaps in the 64th minute, his 11th goal of the season. That puts him tied for 12th in the league for goals scored. But, the team also lost midfielder Tony Tchani, who was sent off with a second yellow card. He will be suspended for the Orlando City match.

The Lions get back Kaká, but still will be without defender Jonathan Spector and midfielder Will Johnson due to injuries.

The last time the teams met, they played to a 2-2 draw in Canada at BC Place. The Lions are hunting for three points this time since they need to win the majority of their last nine matches for a shot at the playoffs, and getting three points Saturday would be a positive way to enter the subsequent four-game road trip.

“We know they’re a team that’s strong and really good at home, but they’re not as strong on the road,” Orlando City midfielder Cristian Higuita said. “They also played mid-week, so for us it’s just focusing on ourselves and making sure we play a good game.”

Training sessions throughout the week looked intense, and the team spent an extra hour on the pitch Wednesday.

“We’re trying to get all the kinks out,” defender Donny Toia said. “It’s a work in progress every day, but I think we’re in the right direction. Everyone is fighting and giving what they got and hopefully we can come out with a result this weekend. It’s going to be tough, we’ve definitely made it difficult on ourselves, but it’s still possible and as long as we stick together and keep fighting for each other, I think we have a chance at it.”

ardelgallo@orlandosentinel.com