Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all are having a lovely day and that the weekend brings rest and relaxation.

If you will be one of the 52,000 fans at BC Place on Saturday night, the weekend will probably bring anxiety and adrenaline. That’s because the international break has only served to heighten the anticipation for one of the most eagerly awaited fixtures in club history, as the Caps look to advance past LAFC to the conference finals.

The Caps appear to have weathered the international break without any major issues, helped by Ali Ahmed picking up a red card in the first friendly of Canada’s international break and Andres Cubas washing his passport with his pants. No, seriously.

Jesper Sorensen has also had two weeks to ponder his lineup decision, arguably one of his biggest calls of the year, and one in which he actually has some options.

Much of his lineup will likely be straightforward. If Ryan Gauld is fit to start, he will slot in alongside Ali Ahmed and Brian White/Daniel Rios/Rayan Elloumi. If he isn’t, then Emmanuel Sabbi will hopefully continue to build on a strong postseason. You could argue that dropping Sabbi would be harsh no matter what but … this is the playoffs and it is all hands on deck. Gauld provides a creative option that the Caps will need to control possession against a dynamic LAFC side, though Sabbi also looked good in a dominant performance against FC Dallas, one where the Caps were on the ball and on the front foot. You could see either option as workable in this one.

The midfield will likely be Cubas, Sebastian Berhalter, and Thomas Mueller, barring any unforeseen developments. But the backline is murkier. Tristan Blackmon will return to the lineup if able, and Edier Ocampo is a lock on the right-hand side. But where or how Sorensen chooses to deploy Mathias Laborda is up for debate. If he plays as a centerback, Tate Johnson or Joedrick Pupe could get the call as left back. If Laborda instead plays in that position, it will be Belal Halbouni. We don’t yet know how Sorensen sees Pupe (Is he a center back? A left back? A Laborda-like Swiss army knife?) and it will be interesting to see if he rolls the dice on baptism by fire for his new signing.

No matter what, this will be the most stacked the Caps bench has been under Sorensen. If things aren’t going Vancouver’s way (or even if they are), he will have real options at his disposal to change the game, rather than riding it out with the starting XI because the possible subs are Ralph Priso and a bunch of Whitecaps 2 players. This match is a true coin flip — I feel far better about things than the last several playoff series against LAFC but their top-end talent of Denis Bouanga and Son remains fearsome. The Caps’ best case for advancement is having a stronger unit, a stronger tactical approach and using the atmosphere on Saturday to lift them to victory.

Shameless Self Promotion

We sit down with Ralph Priso to talk about his breakout season, life as a centerback, and more. And our podcast previews what to expect on Saturday night.

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