San Diego vs. Vancouver Whitecaps Preview
Vancouver Whitecaps forward Thomas Muller is unsure whether his new team will benefit from their inexperience in the latter stages of the playoffs when they travel to San Diego for their first-ever MLS Western Conference final on Saturday.
“You could say ‘they weren’t thinking about it,'” Muller suggested the reaction might be if Vancouver won to move one game away from an MLS Cup triumph.
“What we know we can rely on is our mentality. It comes down to things like our habits, our behavior, our positioning and [avoiding] situations where [San Diego] are strong. We want to enjoy the atmosphere and I’m excited.
The European football legend said the Whitecaps were “lucky” in their epic home semi-final win over LAFC in front of more than 53,000 fans, pushing back a 2-0 half-time lead to draw 2-2 before winning on penalties in a match they finished with nine players due to Tristan Blackmon’s sending-off and Belal Halbouni’s injury.
San Diego beat Minnesota 1-0 at home in the semifinals, with Danish winger Anders Dreyer scoring the game’s only goal with 18 minutes left to complete a long team move.
VANCOUVER WHITESCAPS SHARE!
The party begins, but Thomas Müller makes sure that no one attends alone. 🤝 @WhitecapsFC // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/vFdYZBlVvu
– Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 23, 2025
Head coach Mikey Varas expects the matchup with Vancouver to be “completely different.” “Right now, it’s about having this little moment to recognize the fact that these guys are continuing to make history,” he said.
“We’re going to focus on recovery, on the two or three most important points for this game, and then getting out there and playing as hard as we can.”
Dreyer called the finale “a great, great thing.” “Personally, these are games that are fun to play,” he added. “I can’t wait to play Saturday at home.”
San Diego vs. Vancouver Team News
San Diego guard CJ dos Santos has been out since fracturing his cheekbone in the first round of the playoffs against the Portland Timbers.
Defenders Andres Reyes and Oscar Verhoeven (both legs) and midfielder Alejandro Alvarado (knee) missed much of the season.
On-loan Eintracht Frankfurt left-back Aiden Harangi has been sidelined with a muscle problem.
Halbouni, who came on as a substitute, is expected to be out seven to 10 weeks for Vancouver due to the knee injury he suffered against LAFC.
His compatriot Blackmon is banned after his two yellow cards in this match, with Ralph Priso likely to replace him.
Defenders Ranko Veselinovic (knee) as well as Sam Adekugbe and Sebastian Schonlau (both Achilles) are long-term absentees.
Today: Training
Tomorrow: WCF pic.twitter.com/Tiu83s6XBt– San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) November 28, 2025
Predicted lineups between San Diego and Vancouver Whitecaps
San Diego starting lineup: Pablo Sisniega, Ian Pilcher, Christopher McVey, Manu Duah, Luca Bombino, Onni Valakari, Jeppe Tverskov, Anibal Godoy, Anders Dreyer, Corey Baird, Amahl Pellegrino
Vancouver starting lineup: Yohei Takaoka, Dierer Ocampo, Tristan Black, Ralph Priso, Mathias Laborda, Emmanuel Sabbi, Sebastian Berhalter, Thomas Muler, Andres Cubas, Ali Ahmed, Brian White
How to watch San Diego vs. Vancouver: TV channel, live stream online
Kickoff on Saturday will be at 9:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. PT / 2:00 a.m. Sunday BST), with live coverage available through the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
In the United States, a subscription costs $14.99 per month or $69 per season. Existing Apple TV+ subscribers pay $12.99 per month or $59 per season.
San Diego vs. Vancouver Whitecaps Stats
- Both teams finished with 63 points in the regular season, with San Diego seeded first.
- Defender Ian Pilcher’s first career goal gave San Diego a 1-1 draw when they hosted Vancouver on July 19.
- Varas’ team had the 18th-best home record in the MLS regular season after winning seven and losing five of their 17 matches, but they won their three home playoff games by an aggregate score of 7-1.
- They went more than four hours without conceding a goal at Snapdragon Stadium
- Dreyer produced 19 goals and 19 assists in 34 regular season games, directly contributing to 59% of San Diego’s goals.
- Including the playoffs, San Diego has won 16 and lost one of the 18 games in which they scored first.
- Yohei Takaoka’s assist for Vancouver against LAFC made the goalkeeper the 29th Whitecaps player to have directly contributed to a goal this season in all competitions, joining all of their outfield players to have played at least 10 minutes during the campaign.
- Vancouver won eight and lost four of its 17 away games during the regular season, representing the fourth-best road record in MLS.
- Including the playoffs, Vancouver has won 16 and drawn four of the 20 games in which they scored first
- Both teams scored most often in the final 15 minutes of each half, with 33 of Vancouver’s 71 goals this season coming in those periods, compared to San Diego’s 36 of 73.
- The only 15-minute period in which each team has scored more than 17 times this season is the final 15 minutes of San Diego’s games, scoring 21 times in those final stages.
