The Vancouver Whitecaps return home to take on one of the West’s most in-form teams Saturday when they face off against Austin FC.

At the start of the season, basically everyone predicted the Verde would be in the cellar of the conference and, potentially, challenging Toronto FC for the wooden spoon. Well, as it turns out, neither of those teams got the memo on that projection and Austin capped off an impressive April with a 4-1-0 finish, including a 2-0 win over the LA Galaxy on Saturday.

There was some turnover from last year’s train wreck of a team, which was defined by bad finishing, bad defense and a hard drop-off for the previously MVP-caliber Sebastian Druissi. It was a real letdown after the organization was seemingly ready to turn a corner and become a bona fide contender.

Well, some of those things have definitely changed in 2024. Instead of the more open style of play that characterized their 2022 run, Austin have instead leaned on a more compact, well-drilled approach that results in more direct play (the team is near the top in the league in accurate long balls per match). They put more men behind the ball and a healthy Alex Ring has allowed for a bit more flexibility for the team’s young midfielders, Owen Wolff and Dani Pereira. And Diego Rubio has been a much better fit at striker than the options the team trotted out last year, most of whom tried to occupy the exact same space as Driussi and whiffed on their chances.

Still, chance creation is well below league average (the team is among the last in expected goals) and this is a team that can be stymied if you limit your mistakes and force them to play through the wings.

But Austin have gotten much better about not beating themselves, with better centerback play from Julio Cascante and Donovan Hines-Ike minimizing errors and Jon Gallagher serving as a creative outlet at the right back position. And it helps having an elite MLS shot stopper in goal, with Brad Stuver performing as one of best goalkeepers in the league so far this year.

The Caps will welcome a return home after hauling themselves across the continental United States last week. A midweek date with Cavalry FC awaits in the Canadian Championship, meaning a couple pieces might get rotated, though you would think it would be a primarily first choice lineup for the league match.

Andres Cubas will return from a one-game ban for yellow card accumulation. Alessandro Schopf missed the New York match with injury and his status is unclear but the Caps otherwise should have a fairly clean bill of health for this one and will be hoping that Fafa Picault can return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench against the Red Bulls.

This match will likely come down to how well the Caps are able to tease Austin out of their shape and find the gaps and space they so love to exploit on the counter. The away side will want the ball but will be hesitant to take too many risks — the Caps will need to make the most of any space and chances they get, including set pieces, while not making any mistakes that can be easily punished on the other end.

Austin are no walkover and, with some investment in the summer transfer window, certainly have the makings of a playoff team. With a run of important matches coming up, Vancouver will need to not take their eye off the ball and avoid underestimating an Austin side that will make them work for all three points.