After last week’s disappointing 0-0 draw in Costa Rica, Vancouver Whitecaps welcome Cartagines to BC Place stadium needing a victory to advance to the Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 and book a clash with Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders.

Last week’s game was a cagey affair, with Cartagines sitting deep and absorbing waves of Vancouver pressure with a compact defensive block. The Whitecaps spent much of the evening probing patiently, in vain, for the right pass or cross to unlock the game. They were unable to do so, meaning the tie is still level heading back to Canada.

The game is expected to follow the same pattern at BC Place, but with the home atmosphere and support behind them, Vancouver will be confident of penetrating the Cartagines defence and making the breakthrough.

To achieve this, AZ Jackson may be handed a start after impressing and gathering a goal on his MLS debut for the side, while Emmanuel Sabbi is likely to be in from the off after he was handed a belated suspension by the league and so cannot play against Toronto on Saturday. Although yellow card accumulation is not yet something to worry about, it would make some...