The high flying Vancouver Whitecaps get a chance to exorcise their demons against an old nemesis, LAFC, when the Black and Gold travel to BC Place on Sunday.

That Sunday night date is in and of itself significant, as it means appearing in MLS’ signature time slot. The notion of a national TV game in the US fundamentally changed after the Apple TV deal, but this is the first time the ‘Caps have had anything approaching that since Kendall Waston got sent off after the final whistle against Portland many years ago. It presents an excellent chance to continue to showcase this team’s fantastic play.

LAFC as the opponent is also significant, given budding rivalry here due to the number of times they have played Vancouver in knockout competitions. Obviously, the end results have been unkind to the ‘Caps, but Sunday represents a chance to reverse that narrative.

And while LAFC have not been overwhelming this season, they have been growing in form a bit in recent weeks. This team hasn’t lost since the meltdown in Miami that saw them exit CONCACAF Champions Cup play. Denis Bouanga has bagged four goals in that time and is starting to resemble his MVP-calibre form. That will pose a stiff challenge to Edier Ocampo, Tate Johnson or Sam Adekugbe, as the dynamic winger likes to switch sides. Ocampo had some moments where Inter Miami clearly tried to isolate him, and he mostly withstood that challenge. Bouanga presents an even tougher task.

LAFC under Steve Cherundolo had become a side that lived and died by the counter, favouring direct play that wasn’t always the most aesthetically pleasing, but helped the team advance in big matches. This season they’ve held more of the ball, averaging 52.7% possession and trying to dictate play a bit more.

This is a side that is middle of the pack in terms of both their defense and attack. While Bouanga has been strong recently, LAFC have added a viable second piece, and it wasn’t (as many expected) the Turkish international Cengiz Ünder. Rather, it’s been the youngster David Martinez.

New signing Marco Delgado has been an anchor in midfield, though the ‘Caps will look to win that midfield battle against a team that hasn’t had a true progresser in the position since Eduard Atuesta. New loan signing Frankie Amaya and old friend Ryan Raposo have yet to feature.

In terms of Mathias Laborda and Ryan Gauld, here is what Jesper Sørensen had to say this week at training.

I spoke with Jesper Sørensen yesterday, this was his injury update on all of the players after their first training session after three days off.@WhitecapsFC | #VWFC pic.twitter.com/gNgcG0BKK7

— Sarita Patel (@SaritaReports) May 8, 2025

Otherwise, with no rotation needed, this should be a first choice starting XI for the Danish gaffer. Pedro Vite and Sebastian Berhalter have become expert at finding pockets of space to operate. LAFC, who continue to possess a rock solid defense, will make it difficult, but the pair should be up to the task. The ‘Caps should look to test Hugo Lloris early and often, as the former Spurs skipper has struggled this season.

This is a match with more symbolic importance for Vancouver than league importance. But given that the ‘Caps have taken on all comers this season, why not this season being the one when they are able to slay the dragon?