The Vancouver Whitecaps will welcome Mexican giant Monterrey to BC Place on Wednesday as they continue their Concacaf Champions Cup campaign.

The Whitecaps have historically drawn Tigres in continental play and Leagues Cup, making it a mild surprise when they got paired up with the other Monterrey club this time around.

Tigres and Club America are the only Mexican sides who can rival Monterrey’s spending power, though their millions of dollars in investments this transfer window have landed them uncharacteristically in 9th place in the Clausura standings.

There is no doubt, however, that this is a potent team, likely the toughest the Whitecaps will face all season.

Vancouver will get a slight reprieve, however, as Monterrey will be rolling out a second choice backline. Centreback Carlos Salcedo is out until summer with an ACL and new signing Sergio Ramos (yes, that Sergio Ramos and, yes, he’s still around) won’t travel to Vancouver. That means I sadly can’t make a comparison between Tristan Blackmon and Sergio Ramos, even though it appears they will play similar roles in possession.

Speaking of possession, this could be a case of immovable force meeting unstoppable object. Under Jesper Sørensen, Vancouver want the ball much more — in fact, noted possession-based sides Columbus and San Diego are the only ones with higher rates of possession through two matches than Vancouver.

Monterrey, however, dominate possession more than almost any other Liga MX team. And it’s easy to see why, with a 4-2-3-1 that makes full use of their attacking firepower, playing through wide midfielders Sergio Canales or Jesus Corona.

They have shuffled their midfield organization around, with the holding midfielders asked to do a lot of the defensive duties. Yet, with Oliver Torres and Nelson Deossa as standouts in the middle of the park, they help feed one of the most lethal strikers in Mexico, German Bertrame.

Scoring goals certainly has not been Monterrey’s problem, but not conceding has been. They’ve kept only one clean sheet all year.

That creates a bit of an opportunity for Vancouver. Not having Sam Adekugbe, who is out indefinitely with a quad injury, is a huge blow, as his width helped stretch teams and open up space for Ryan Gauld on the left hand side. Given that Edier Ocampo is now suspended for Saturday, you would imagine he will slot in instead, giving Vancouver a more attacking minded option at left back.

Even still, this is a Vancouver team that has not struggled to create in each of its first four competitive matches. Watching Monterrey play on Sunday, it seemed Santos was able to create plenty of chances in transition or via the wings, meaning Jayden Nelson and Pedro Vite could have ample chances to influence the match.

The tactical approach will be interesting and it will be a real test of Jesper Sørensen’s acumen and it will be the biggest challenge yet for the backline. The Whitecaps defense hasn’t been tested much, aside from a choppy end to the Saprissa match.

The other problem is fatigue. Vancouver have tried to manage rotation across two competitions but some key pieces, such as Brian White, haven’t gotten much of a break. Monterrey is not a team you want to feel leggy against.

The Whitecaps have held their own against Mexican teams in recent seasons, but haven’t been able to seal the deal against one of the top dogs. Monterrey will always be the betting favorite but I feel more positive about this match than I have in the past.