LAFC at Vancouver Whitecaps
Wednesday, April 5 at 7:00pm PT
Location: BC Place - Vancouver, Canada
TV: FS1, TUDN
After a scoreless draw on the road against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, April 1, LAFC now shifts its focus back to the Concacaf Champions League, where the team travels to Vancouver to face the Whitecaps on Wednesday, April 5 at BC Place in the first leg at 7:00 p.m.
This will be the first-ever matchup between the clubs outside of MLS play, where LAFC holds a 4-4-3 record in MLS vs. the Caps.
The Black & Gold defeated the Whitecaps 2-0 in their first trip to BC Place in 2018, but have not won in Vancouver since – dropping their last four games on the artificial turf of the Whitecaps rowdy home stadium.
LAFC reached the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals by defeating Costa Rican side LD Alajuelense 4-2 on aggregate, while the Whitecaps advanced by defeating Honduran side Real C.D. España 7-3 on aggregate.
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WHITECAPS IN-DEPTH
Led by head coach Vanni Sartini, the Whitecaps are coming off a dominant home performance in MLS action, where they beat CF Montréal 5-0 on Saturday, April 1. The team also beat Real C.D. España 5-0 at home in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 in March.
The Club is participating in their third-ever Concacaf Champions League tournament and reached the semifinals in 2017 before being defeated by Mexican side Tigres UANL 4-1 on aggregate.
The Whitecaps have scored seven goals and had five different goal scorers in the Concacaf Champions League Round of 16, which includes two goals from forward Brian White.
Former MLS NEXT Pro product and forward Simon Becher, who scored in the second leg against Real C.D. España, now has four goals scored across all competitions in 2023 and became the fastest player in MLS history to score his first four career goals (87 minutes played) as he was named the MLS Player of the Week.
The Whitecaps are expected to be without striker Sergio Córdova, who is dealing with a hamstring injury.
LAFC WILL WIN IF
They can find a way to put their recent history of playing on the BC Place turf behind them. The Black & Gold have been outscored 6-2 in their last four matches in Vancouver, and will need to lean on forwards Carlos Vela and Denis Bouanga for goals. Both have proven they can score just about anywhere they play -- regardless of the field conditions.
WHITECAPS CAN WIN IF
They can continue their recent home success and keep the goal-scoring momentum going. Having nine different goal scorers across all competitions in 2023, the Whitecaps have proved just about anyone on the ball can be a threat to the LAFC defense. Vancouver will most likely come out in either a 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 formation and hope to catch LAFC off guard for an early goal.
