The Vancouver Whitecaps will look to come out on top of their first derby day of the year, as they host Toronto FC at BC Place on Saturday night.
The ‘Caps have certainly benefited the last couple of seasons from playing both of their Canadian rivals in the Eastern Conference. While that may ultimately prove to be the case in 2026 as well, Toronto definitely feels like a team that can mix it up for a playoff spot and provides stiffer opposition than they have in recent years.
The good news for Vancouver is twofold. One, Josh Sargent, who will reportedly be joining Toronto in a $23 million move, won’t be leading the line for the Reds. The second is that things didn’t go so hot for TFC in week one, as they fell on the road to FC Dallas in a 3-2 slugfest.
Toronto was widely pegged to be a bottom-feeder in 2025, and they defied those expectations somewhat, punching above their weight and managing to clear out the dead weight contracts of Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernadeschi that had been holding them back. One of those open DP spots was used to bring in Djordje Mihailovic from Colorado midseason, and he thrived in Robin Fraser’s system — even though Toronto still hasn’t figured out whether they want to play him as a winger or a 10.
But despite a decent attack featuring Mihailovic, Jonathan Osorio, Theo Corbeanu, and others, Toronto was leaky in the back. While they were seventh in MLS for goals scored, they ranked near the bottom in goals against, and that was despite a Herculean performance from Sean Johnson. Johnson, who arguably could have been a Goalkeeper of the Year contender despite TFC’s middling quality, left for DC United, meaning youngster Luka Gavran will likely be between the sticks.
To try to shore up the defence, Toronto made a splash by bringing in veteran free agent Walker Zimmerman. Fellow MLS stalwart Daniel Salloi was added to bolster the attack, and TFC also made Corbeanu’s loan move permanent after the Canadian bagged seven goal involvements in 2025.
The theory of Toronto being a decent team is very much there, especially once Sargent arrives. Mihailovic, Osorio, and Jose Cifuentes are all very good pieces in midfield. Given that Fraser favours a 4-2-3-1, I imagine that Mihailovic will get bumped out wide, and while I don’t personally feel that is his best position, he looked good out wide in week one and managed a goal. While Zimmerman dropped off last season, he is, when healthy, still an above-average MLS centreback. And old friend Richie Laryea is still going strong at left back.
It didn’t quite play out that way in week one, however. Some defensive errors and individual quality from Petar Musa and Logan Farrington spelled TFC’s downfall. The backline did not look any better than it did last year, and Alonso Coello, who seemed like an important piece in midfield, was poor and got subbed out in the 54th minute. All in all, this feels like a TFC team that you would rather play now, rather than in, say, July.
In fairness, the same could be said for Vancouver. The ‘Caps pulled out a 2-0 win in the CONCACAF Champions Cup on Wednesday, but did not look especially convincing in doing so. It came on the heels of a 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake in week one, another match where the Caps never really looked like themselves. The Vancouver defense has been generally solid, something that will hopefully be enough to buy the attack some time to gel.
The bad news for the ‘Caps is that the attack will have to gel this weekend without Emmanuel Sabbi, who was suspended after dodging a red card against RSL. Kenji Cabrera appeared to pick up a knock on Wednesday as well, though his status for Saturday remains uncertain. Sabbi’s absence all but guarantees AZ Jackson will slot into the starting lineup on Saturday. Edier Ocampo, Thomas Müller, Andres Cubas, and Mathias Laborda did not start on Wednesday (though all made cameos off the bench) and seem good bets to be in the starting XI on Saturday.
Vancouver’s problems so far seem largely tied to being unable to break down defensive blocks, not getting Müller and Brian White engaged enough, and trying to figure out what things will look like without Ali Ahmed and Jayden Nelson around to help unpick stubborn defences. Jesper Sorensen and his team aren’t sneaking up on anyone this year, and that has been reflected in the opposition’s tactics so far this season.
That being said, I’d expect the game against TFC to be a bit more open, given that the Reds split possession pretty evenly in week one with FC Dallas and seem to be leaning into their attack while they figure out some holes in the midfield and defense. I have a hard time seeing them sitting back and inviting pressure in the same way RSL and Cartaginés did. Whether that means three points and a return to last year’s style or not remains to be seen.