Saturday afternoon at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps host LAFC in a rematch of last year’s memorable Western Conference Semifinal, which the Whitecaps won on penalties.

After years of struggling to get past the Black & Gold in all competitions, that dramatic victory at BC Place helped propel Jesper Sørensen’s side to its first-ever Western Conference Final. They would eventually claim the club’s first Western Conference title and make their first-ever appearance in the MLS Cup Final.

Two hundred and fifty-two days later, these two teams meet again, tied on points atop the Western Conference. While LAFC sits third on points percentage with 18 matches played, Saturday’s clash is undoubtedly a six-pointer that could have major implications for playoff seeding by season’s end.

LAFC has been hot and cold this season, opening the year with an 11-match unbeaten run across all competitions. Yet, a 4-1 loss to San Jose and a second-leg collapse against Toluca in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal were among the low points of the campaign, raising serious questions about this team’s legitimacy.

Dos Santos’ side followed up that CCC exit with three straight losses in MLS play before the World Cup break. Since returning, however, LAFC has gone a long way toward erasing the memory of that difficult stretch. The Black & Gold have won all three of their MLS matches, doing so by a combined score of 10-1, with Son Heung-min scoring in each of those matches as he looks like he is on a mission after a disappointing World Cup showing.

Even so, questions about the club’s consistency remain, and Saturday’s clash with Vancouver presents another opportunity to prove this resurgence is the real deal. For Marc Dos Santos, who remains under heavy scrutiny, this strong return to form has likely bought him some breathing room, but LAFC supporters have high expectations and little patience for another downturn.

With Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min leading the attack, you would expect LAFC to be one of the league’s most dangerous offensive teams. Yet, their numbers through the MLS season to date have been rather pedestrian. They rank just ninth in the league in expected goals (xG), and outside of Bouanga and David Martínez, consistent goal-scoring has been difficult to find. However, with Son finding his form as of late, those concerns could disappear quickly.

The defensive unit remains reliable, though the combination of a 39-year-old Hugo Lloris and former Whitecaps goalkeeper Thomas Hasal in goal is arguably the biggest weakness of an otherwise talented squad.

It’s worth noting that LAFC has maintained its “ball optional” approach under Dos Santos, as the Black & Gold rank 30th in passes per defensive action (PPDA), 25th in high recoveries against, and 25th in vertical tendency. To unpack that, they’ve remained a low-block, counterattacking team, but they have not been as dangerous in transition as they have been in past seasons, with the backline often slower to move the ball forward and find their dangerous attackers in space.

Flipping things over to the Whitecaps, the biggest storyline in recent weeks has been the departure of Sebastian Berhalter, who is off to England to join Middlesbrough FC. His exit leaves a significant hole in midfield for Jesper Sørensen to fill, though Ryan Gauld has returned to the squad in recent weeks, while both Jeevan Badwal and Oliver Larraz have impressed since the World Cup break. Ralph Priso is also nearing a return to the squad.

The position group that is arguably the thinnest for the Whitecaps right now is on the wing. Kenji Cabrera remains out long term, while Emmanuel Sabbi is still working his way back to full fitness after an injury. Meanwhile, Bruno Caicedo will miss 4–6 weeks after suffering an injury last weekend in Minnesota.

Given this, I would not be surprised to see more of the setup Sørensen utilized in the second half last weekend, with Badwal playing centrally alongside Cubas, and both Gauld and Müller on the pitch together in the front four. There have been flashes of the old Gauld-led Whitecaps attack, and this setup has the potential to help fill the hole Berhalter has left behind.

Will this be enough to beat LAFC? It likely depends on which version of both teams we see this weekend at BC Place. On balance, the Whitecaps have been the better and more consistent side this season, and their style of play has proven to be more reliable. However, LAFC enters the match in excellent form and has undeniable game-breakers in Son and Bouanga.

If Sørensen can find the right balance in the front four, I like Vancouver’s chances of taking all three points, but this will be anything but an easy test.