Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Inter Miami: How to watch, lineup & score predictions | OneFootball

The Vancouver Whitecaps and Inter Miami are the best two teams in MLS right now, and on Thursday they meet in a juicy Concacaf Champions Cup clash at BC Place.

Vancouver will host Miami in Leg 1 of the total goals series, and then they'll play the return fixture in South Florida next Wednesday. The winner will be decided by aggregate goals, with the away goals rule in play as a tiebreaker after 180 minutes (but not if Leg 2 goes to extra time.)

Here's everything to know ahead of the biggest game involving MLS teams so far this season.

How to watch Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Inter Miami

Match information

TV and Streaming Information

United States: FS1 and FoxSports App (English), TUDN and Vix (Spanish)Canada: OneSoccer

Vancouver Whitecaps and Inter Miami predicted lineups

The fact that both these teams played Saturday means there should be relatively little squad rotation from the weekend. And while every week in Inter Miami's world brings speculation over whether Lionel Messi will play, the truth is Miami is the healthier side, with attackers Ryan Gauld and Jayden Nelson likely still unavailable for the Whitecaps.

That doesn't mean Vancouver's Pascal Jensen or Miami's Javier Mascherano won't make any tweaks from the weekend, just that they will be explicitly tactical rather than with an eye toward load management.

Vancouver Whitecaps predicted lineup

4-3-3, right to left: Yohei Takaoka (GK) - Edier Ocampo, Tristan Blackmon, Ranko Veselinovic, Tate Johnson - Sebastian Berhalter, Andres Cubas, Pedro Vite - Emmanuel Sabbi, Brian White, Ali Ahmed

Inter Miami predicted lineup

4-4-2, right to left: Oscar Ustari (GK) - Marcelo Weigandt, Gonzalo Lujan, Noah Allen, Jordi Alba - Ben Cremaschi, Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright, Tadeo Allende - Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Inter Miami score prediction

Opening legs are typically fairly cautious affairs, and there's some reason to believe that will be the case here. Vancouver drew their previous two home legs against Liga MX opposition 1-1, while Miami has seen only four goals scored across its three opening-leg matches in the competition.

At full strength, Vancouver would have a genuine case as the home favorite, even against Miami's extremely talented group. But while the 'Caps have fared well without attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld and winger Jayden Nelson, their absences may show up in this spot.

Our guess? Messi's Miami finds a way to score and earn a 1-1 draw, an excellent result for the Herons ahead of a home return leg.