LAFC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: Who has the edge

For the second straight season, LAFC and the Vancouver Whitecaps will meet in the MLS Cup playoffs. the similarities appear to be the same this year as last year, as LAFC will again have home field advantage and are expected to be heavy favorites in the series. Nevertheless, this matchup will be analyzed to see how big or how small the gap is between these two sides.

 

LAFC

Another strong season for LAFC saw then finish atop the Western Conference for the second time in three seasons. This year however, the journey there was anything but easy, as LAFC battled tooth-and-nail with its crosstown rival LA Galaxy, and had to win six in a row and have Houston beat the LA Galaxy to get first place. However, that scenario likely leaves LAFC battle tested and prepared for the grind of the playoffs. Denis Bouanga again carried the team, as he scored 20 goals, but he received help from Mateusz Bogusz, who chipped in 15 goals this season, and Olivier Giroud and Kei Kamara add more firepower at the forward position. Eduard Atuesta, Ilie Sanchez, Timothy Tillman lead the LAFC midfield, while Ryan Hollingshead and Aaron Long lead the LAFC backline.

 

Vancouver Whitecaps

The Whitecaps had actually limped into the playoffs, going 0-4-3 in its last seven games to fall into the wild card playoff against the Portland Timbers. Vancouver however found redemption in the Wild Card game, as they went on the road into Providence Park and practically routed the Timbers out of its home stadium, dealing its Cascadia rivals a 5-0 defeat. The Whitecaps are lead by its familiar dynamic duo in Brian White and Ryan Gauld. White scored 15 goals this season, while Gauld added 10 goals, but led the team with 15 assists.

 

Head to Head

LAFC won both matches against Vancouver this season. LAFC won the first meeting 3-0 at BMO Stadium back on May 11, then on October 13, LAFC, playing without Bouanga, went into BC Place Stadium and withstood a spirited challenge from a Whitecaps side missing key international players and pulled out a 2-1 win, with the winning goal coming from Sanchez in stoppage time, and the result put LAFC in position to earn the top seed in the West. The two side also face each other in Leagues Cup, which Vancouver won on penalty kicks 4-2 in Los Angeles, but LAFC had already sealed advancement to the knockout stages by that point.

 

Outlook

Just like last year, its hard to imagine things going any differently from last year this time around. LAFC’s personnel is mostly the same, and on top of that, LAFC recently brought back Carlos Vela, who will surely provide LFAC with more firepower off the bench. Vancouver should be riding high after its performance in Portland and can dwell on the fact that it played LAFC tough without its international players, but other than that, I just can’t see Vancouver having enough in its roster to contend with LAFC’s star power and more importantly, its depth.

Prediction: LAFC in a sweep.