Los Angeles FC can punch their ticket into the next round of the MLS Cup playoffs with a victory on Sunday at BC Place Stadium against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Three second-half strikes in the opening game of this best-of-three series enabled the reigning champions to triumph 5-2 at BMO Stadium last weekend.
Match preview
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It is now or never for the Whitecaps, who need a victory on Sunday to prolong their season for at least one more match.
With the Caps and LA tied at two after the opening 45 minutes in game one, it seemed like Vancouver were poised to steal a victory, but in the end, some poor set-piece defending proved to be their undoing.
On Sunday, they will host their first playoff fixture since 2017, and their third overall, with the Whitecaps losing only one post-season contest at home since entering MLS (2-0 against the Portland Timbers in 2015).
Vanni Sartini's men ended the regular season on a three-match unbeaten run at BC Place, and they did not concede in their previous two playoff games played there in 2017.
Vancouver have only led in two of their eight post-season fixtures all-time, defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 5-0 in 2017 while squandering a 1-0 half-time advantage, before losing 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2012 in what was their first MLS playoff appearance.
Their overall record versus the Black and Gold is not great, with the Caps winning just five of 16 matches against them in all competitions, though they have never gone winless in three successive outings against LAFC, though that will no longer be the case if they fail to triumph on Sunday.
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They suffered a couple of setbacks in the opening game, but to their credit, Steve Cherundolo's men kept attacking and were rewarded with a comfortable victory last Saturday.
That was the fifth time that Los Angeles had beaten Vancouver by three or more goals in what was their third victory against the Caps in 2023, while LA have scored three or more goals versus the Whitecaps on six occasions.
Sunday will be the first time they play a post-season fixture in Canada in what will only be their second-ever playoff encounter away from home, with LA losing their first such game in 2020 versus the Seattle Sounders (3-1).
While LAFC have won four of their previous five matches in all competitions against the Caps, they have only beaten them once at BC Place in MLS play (2-0 in 2018).
For all of their attacking success versus the Caps through the years, the Black and Gold have not been quite as clinical against them away from home, scoring a goal or fewer in five of their six visits to Vancouver.
Los Angeles ended the regular season unbeaten in their final four away fixtures but only netted multiple times in one encounter over that stretch (4-2 win at Austin FC).
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Team News
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In the opening match of this series, Vancouver were without Thomas Hasal, who is still recovering from patellar tendinopathy, Russell Teibert sat out because of hip joint irritation, while Andres Cubas returned from a right shoulder injury.
Brian White notched his 20th goal for the Caps across all competitions last Saturday, and he is now two away from equalling the highest-scoring season for a Whitecaps player in the MLS era, while Sam Adekugbe picked up his first strike with Vancouver and Ryan Gauld set a new club record for MLS assists in a single season including the playoffs, registering his 13th of 2023.
Ali Ahmed had their equalising goal the last time they hosted the Black and Gold, while Yohei Takaoka has conceded 14 goals in his five matches against LAFC.
Cherundolo went with the same starting 11 last weekend that he put out in their final regular season encounter versus Vancouver, with Aaron Long being the only newcomer to feature, replacing Giorgio Chiellini for the final five minutes plus stoppage time.
Denis Bouanga continued his impressive form in front of goal, scoring twice against Vancouver in game one of this series, as he now has 35 in all competitions this year, tied for second all-time in a single campaign with Josef Martinez and three behind his current teammate Carlos Vela from 2019, while Ryan Hollingshead also had a brace, with Jesus Murillo adding one as well.
Maxime Crepeau stopped two penalties from Ryan Gauld the last time they faced them in Vancouver when the two sides played to a 1-1 draw to wrap up the 2023 regular season.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Brown, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Cubas; Laryea, Raposo, Berhalter, Vite; White, Gauld
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Hollingshead, Murillo, Chiellini, Palacios; Tillman, Sanchez, Bogusz; Olivera, Vela, Bouanga
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Los Angeles FC
The score last Saturday was not indicative of how the Whitecaps played overall, and we believe they will be able to clean up those set-piece mishaps and find a way to capitalise in transition.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
