After last week’s disappointing 0-0 draw in Costa Rica, Vancouver Whitecaps welcome Cartagines to BC Place stadium needing a victory to advance to the Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 and book a clash with Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders.

Last week’s game was a cagey affair, with Cartagines sitting deep and absorbing waves of Vancouver pressure with a compact defensive block. The Whitecaps spent much of the evening probing patiently, in vain, for the right pass or cross to unlock the game. They were unable to do so, meaning the tie is still level heading back to Canada.

The game is expected to follow the same pattern at BC Place, but with the home atmosphere and support behind them, Vancouver will be confident of penetrating the Cartagines defence and making the breakthrough.

To achieve this, AZ Jackson may be handed a start after impressing and gathering a goal on his MLS debut for the side, while Emmanuel Sabbi is likely to be in from the off after he was handed a belated suspension by the league and so cannot play against Toronto on Saturday. Although yellow card accumulation is not yet something to worry about, it would make some sense if now non-DP (hooray) Andres Cubas was left out following his booking in the first leg, but with Oliver Larraz also being cautioned giving the new signing a first start would not resolve that problem.

The Champions Cup brings the blessing, and the curse, of extra games at the start of the season, so Jesper Sørensen has got to manage minutes early on in the campaign to maximize fitness. Vancouver have not looked their best across the opening games, and with Sebastian Berhalter, Tristan Blackmon, Mathias Laborda and Tate Johnson all playing full matches in both of the opening two games, the Whitecaps boss may consider dropping at least one of them to the bench for this one to conserve fitness ahead of upcoming tests.

This makes Edier Ocampo another likely candidate to start after appearing as a substitute at the weekend, while Ralph Priso didn’t feature at all in Costa Rica but may do so in an attempt to utilise his passing range and give the Canadian more experience alongside Blackmon at the heart of defence.

Both sides come into this game following a weekend of victories that masked slightly disappointing performances. Vancouver were far from their best but got the job done in a 1-0 victory over a depleted Real Salt Lake side on the first game of the MLS season, while Cartagines came from behind to eke out a 2-1 win at home to an AD Municipal Liberia side who are rock bottom of the Costa Rican Primera Division.

Another thing that we have to bear in mind is that Concacaf have not yet done away with away goals, leaving Vancouver in a potentially perilous position after their failure to score in Costa Rica. If Cartagines find the net, then the Whitecaps need to win the game within 90 minutes, and a tie will not lead to extra-time but instead the visitors will advance. This is hopefully not going to be an issue, but it is worth contemplating in case the situation arises.

In all, this game promises to be a fascinating conclusion to the tie. Vancouver are the favourites, and will expect to go through, but they will have to be at their best to break down a stubborn defence who will play without fear and look to rattle the 2025 runners up.

Still, I predict that they will have enough to do so, and the run to a second straight final will get off to a solid start.