san diego v vancouver whitecaps 1
Vancouver Whitecaps Thomas Muller doesn’t know if his new team will benefit from an absence from the final stages of the playoffs when they travel to San Diego for their conference opener on Saturday.
“You can say they ‘didn’t think about it’,” Muller said, suggesting the reaction may have been to win one game away from the MLS Cup triumph.
“All we know is that we can rely on our mind. It comes down to things like our habits, our behavior, our posture and our attitude [avoiding] timber [San Diego] they are strong. We want to enjoy the atmosphere and be happy. “
The European football travel legend said the whitecaps were “lucky” in their last-gasp win at home to LAFC in front of a nine-man side due to injuries to Tristan Blackmon and Belal Halbouni.
San Diego Beat Minnesota 1-0 at home in the Semi-Final, Denmark Winger Anders Dreyer RiFing in the only goal of the game 18 minutes from Movie Times.
The Vancouver Whitecaps are on the move!
The celebration begins but Thomas Müller makes sure that no one takes it alone. 🤝 @WhiteCapsFC // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/vfdyzblvvu
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 23, 2025
Head coach Mikey Varas expects the meeting with Vancouver to be ‘completely different.’ “Right now, it’s about having this little moment to see the fact that these people are continuing to make history,” she said.
“Our focus is going to be getting it back, the two to three points that are most important in that game, and then going out there and just playing as hard as we can.”
Dreyer called the latter a “big, big thing”. “For me, these are games where it’s fun to play,” he added. “I can’t wait to play on Saturday at home.”
San Diego v Vancouver Team News
San Diego Goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos wasn’t there looking for a cheekbone in the opener that went around the Portland posts.
Defenders Andres Reyes and Oscar Verhoeven (both leg) and defender Alejandro Alvarado (knee) missed most of the season.
Eintracht Frankfurt loan left-back Aiden Harangi is sidelined with a muscle problem.
Halbouni, who came on as a substitute, is expected to be out for seven to 10 weeks in Vancouver with a knee injury suffered against LAFC.
His fellow center back was banned after two yellow cards in that game, with Ralph Priso likely to be removed.
Defenders Ramo VESELININOVIC (Knee) and Sam Adekugbe and Sebastian Schonlau (both achilles) are out for a long time.
Today: Training
Tomorrow: wcf pic.twitter.com/TIU83S6xBT– San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) November 28, 2025
San Diego v Vancouver Whitecaps predicted lineups
San Diego starting XI: Pablo Sisniega, Ian Pilcher, Christopher McVey, Manu Duah, Luca Bombino, Onni Valakari, Anibal Dreyer, Anders Dreyer, Ander Pellegro
Vancouver starting XI: Johei Takaoka, Emier Ocampo, Tristan Blackmon, Ralph Laborma, Emmanuel Sabbi, Sebastian Berhalter, Thomas Muller, Andres Cuber, Ali Ahmed, Brian White
How to watch San Diego v Vancouver: TV channel, live streaming online
Kick-off on Saturday at 21:00 et (18:00 PT / 02:00 Sunday BST), with live coverage available with the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV +.
In the US, a subscription costs $14.99 per month or $69 per season. Existing Apple TV+ paid subscribers pay $12.99 per month or $59 per season.
San Diego v Vancouver Whitecaps Stats
- Both teams finished with 63 points in the regular season, with San Diego Sedy first
- Pilender’s Ian Percherer’s first home run gave the San Diego A’s a 1-1 draw against Vancouver on July 19
- Varas’ side had the 18th-best home record in the MLS regular season after seven wins and five losses in its 17th season, but they won all three of their playoff games.
- They went more than four hours without conceding at the 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 18 games in which it has scored first.
- Johei Takaoka’s assist for Vancouver against LAFC made the goalscorer’s 29th Whitecaps Player contribution to a goal this season in all competitions, logging at least 10 minutes during the campaign
- Vancouver has won eight and lost four of its 17 games away from the regular season, which represents the fourth-best road record in MLS
- Including the playoffs, Vancouver has won 16 and drawn four of the 20 games they have scored first.
- Both teams scored frequently during the closing 15 minutes of the half, with 33 of Vancouver’s 71 goals this season coming in those periods, compared to 36 for San Diego
- The only 15-minute period in which a side has scored more this season is the final 15 minutes of San Diego games, netting 21 times in those closing stages
