MATCH PREVIEW: Vancouver Whitecaps look to turn around 2-1 deficit in Leg 2 Concacaf Champions Cup clash vs. Saprissa

The Vancouver Whitecaps are looking to avoid a second straight first-round exit in the Concacaf Champions Cup, as they get set to welcome Deportivo Saprissa to BC Place on Thursday.

After a frustrating first leg, where they fell 2-1 despite taking the lead in the match, they’re looking to avoid a shock elimination at the hand of the three-time tournament champions, Saprissa, who themselves are looking to win a Champions Cup elimination tie for the first time in over a decade.

Despite trailing after their first-leg defeat, however, the Whitecaps still retain a solid advantage heading into this second leg - not only will they be at home, but thanks to their away goal, a 1-0 win would be enough to advance.

On the flip side, they don’t have a very high margin for error - they cannot lose or draw, and should they concede a goal, they’ll need two goals just to get the match to penalties, and will need to beat Saprissa by two goals should their guests find a second goal (which would force the Whitecaps to need to score at least four goals to advance).

Safe to say, this will be a good test for the Whitecaps, who will need to strike a balance between pushing for the goal they need (and perhaps a bit of a cushion on top of that), while avoiding conceding.

In leg one, they got that balance wrong - after scoring first, they looked likely to put away their hosts, as they did well to keep attacking.

Unfortunately, they squandered several key opportunities, and that left the door open for Saprissa to get themselves back in the game, something they took full advantage of, capping things off with a dramatic 95th-minute winner.

Now, Saprissa can enter this match with an eye on defending that lead, and perhaps find some more shock magic, giving themselves what they need to find that elusive knockout victory.

Either way, with Liga MX side CF Monterrey awaiting the winner of this matchup, stiffer tests await for whoever survives this matchup, meaning that this game will provide a nice platform in terms of showing what’s still to come in this tournament for one of these two teams.

3 THINGS TO WATCH:

• Whitecaps still learning to control games: While the Whitecaps will still be reeling over their loss to Saprissa, they’ll also console themselves with the fact that it was the first match under head coach Jesper Sørensen. As far as first games go, an away match in Concacaf competition is never easy, so it’s understandable that his team weren’t fully able to execute his vision, which has seen him demand this side to hold more of the ball and control games in and out of possession. The good news? They did well to learn from their mistakes against Saprissa, where they lost control of the match after doing well to stick to the game plan in the first half, as they ensured that didn’t happen in their MLS season opener against the Portland Timbers. There, they did well to frustrate the Timbers with their patient approach, drawing an early red card before scoring four goals in a dominant 4-1 win. Most importantly, they were always in full control of the game, even when up by three goals, ensuring the Timbers never got a hint of momentum. Now, they’ll need to replicate that performance in this game. As Saprissa showed in leg one, they can be very effective if given the chance to grow into the game, which the Whitecaps let them do after they hardly got into the game in the first half. Now, the Whitecaps will need to find a way to replicate that sort of first-half showing, but then show the maturity to maintain that throughout the entire game, as they did in Portland.
  
  
• Can Saprissa continue offensive momentum? Heading into the first leg, Saprissa was far from top form, as they entered that match having dropped points in their last four games (0W-2D-2L), scoring just two goals across those four matches. Because of that, it added another reason why the Whitecaps were strong favourites to win, even despite entering that match without any other competitive matches under their belt. Yet, that shows why Saprissa’s late comeback was so important for them, as not only did they pick up a crucial victory that gave them a stronger chance of qualification, but they were able to give their group a much-needed boost of confidence. That’s already paid off for them in other ways, too - they followed up that Whitecaps win with a 2-0 win over Sporting San José in league play just a few days later, their first league victory since February 1st. More importantly, that win also saw them score two goals in back-to-back games for the first time since early December, as they’ve struggled offensively to start the year. Heading into this second leg, goals won’t be their main focus - they can advance as long as they keep a clean sheet - but they certainly wouldn’t help, given the away goals rule. Against a Whitecaps side that still managed to concede against the Timbers despite being up a player for a large chunk of the game, they’ll feel they can continue this offensive momentum into this game.
  
  
• Who will start between Ahmed and Nelson? Quietly, there’s a fascinating battle brewing out wide for the Whitecaps, where Canadian internationals Ali Ahmed and Jayden Nelson are battling for minutes as the right winger in Sørensen’s 4-3-3. First, Ahmed got things started off with an assist and a strong performance against Saprissa, before Nelson responded with a magical one-goal and three-assist showing against the Timbers a few days later. Because of that, it’s hard to know who will start in this game - does Sørensen ride the hot hand of Nelson, even if Ahmed is due a start? Or does he tip Ahmed, knowing that he’ll have a point to prove? Perhaps, the solution could also be to start both - Nelson can also play as a #10 if needed, while Ahmed has proven that he can also play as a wing back or in midfield. Plus, with the Whitecaps needing goals, they could push Ryan Gauld deeper on the field to free up both to start in the attack, a role Gauld could fill given that he’s already dropping deep in possession in Sørensen’s system. Of course, there’s the question of whether Gauld should be pushed back given his importance to the attack, but seeing that he’s scored two goals in two games to start the year despite playing in a slightly deeper role, it shows his effectiveness shouldn’t be affected as long as a careful balance is struck between how Nelson and Ahmed are deployed. No matter what happens, however, one thing is for sure - it’s good for the Whitecaps that they have to ask these questions, as they’ll benefit from having this competition for minutes in the attack, leading to more offensive outbursts like the ones they’ve seen so far.

PROJECTED STARTED XIs:

Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Takaoka; Laborda, Veselinović, Blackmon, Adekugbe; Ngando, Cubas, Berhalter; Ahmed, White, Gauld

Deportivo Saprissa: Alvarado; Valverde, Anderson, Escobar, Bolaños, Mora; Torres, Acuña, Vega, Rodríguez, Waston

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP HISTORY

Vancouver Whitecaps all-time record: 6-2-4
Best finish: Semi-finals (2016-2017)

Deportivo Saprissa all-time record: 29-24-28
Best finish: Champions (1993, 1995, 2005)

Canadian viewers can watch the tournament live on OneSoccer. For more information on the Concacaf Champions Cup, click here, and for further coverage of the tournament at CanPL.ca, click here.