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11h ago

Sold-Out BC Place Readies for Whitecaps–LAFC Semifinal With Western Final at Stake

Vancouver arrives healthier after a three-week layoff with Denis Bouanga’s prolific record against them highlighting LAFC’s primary threat.

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LAFC’s Son Heung-min, left, and the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Thomas Müller, right, have delivered for their teams since arriving in the summer. The internationally beloved game-changers are among many reasons that Saturday night’s Western Conference semifinal in Canada is so intriguing. (Photos by The Associated Press and Getty Images)

Overview

  • The single-elimination Western Conference semifinal in Vancouver will send the winner to the conference final before more than 50,000 fans.
  • LAFC has controlled the recent series against the Whitecaps, going 8-3-3 since April 2023 with a plus-11 goal differential and multiple postseason eliminations.
  • Denis Bouanga has nine goals and seven assists against Vancouver, including four goals in five playoff meetings, and he noted he cannot explain his unusual success in this matchup.
  • Both clubs swept their first-round series and then had nearly three weeks off, which Vancouver used to restore fitness, with Brian White available and Ryan Gauld and Tristan Blackmon nearing full strength.
  • Vancouver is expected to see more of the ball, while LAFC looks to strike in transition through Bouanga and Son Heung-min, as Jesper Sørensen weighs starting Gauld and where to deploy Mathias Laborda.