Pacific FC and Vancouver FC will kick off a jam-packed weekend of Canadian Premier League action with a massive clash out in Langford on Friday.
The third Salish Sea Derby of the season, with one coming in CPL play and the other in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship, this game promises to be a huge game for both teams, making it fitting for a nationally broadcasted affair on TSN 5.
It’s no secret that both have struggled massively to start 2025, as Pacific sits in sixth place with eight points, narrowly ahead of eighth-place Vancouver with six points. Not only that, but Pacific is six points out of the last playoff spot, and Vancouver eight, as they’re already starting to drift away from playoff contention as the halfway point of the CPL season nears.
Because of that, this feels like a crucial match, one that could rejuvenate their respective seasons, especially if there’s a winner. On the flip side, a defeat could prove to be catastrophic for either side, further widening an already big gap between them and the postseason.
Yet, as Pacific will know, you’ve got to start somewhere. They sparked a late run to the playoffs after a tough summer in 2024, thanks to a red-hot run in September and October, so they’ll know the value of catching form at the right time.
Therefore, despite entering this game winless in six, with five losses across that span, scoring just one goal and conceding 10, they’re just looking to catch a spark wherever it may come from, and feel that this perhaps could be that occasion for them.
“We’ll just focus on the game,” Pacific’s head coach James Merriman said. “It’s a Friday night game at Starlight Stadium, we haven't had that in a while, and it’s on TSN, so it’s a big occasion.”
“It's a derby match between us and Vancouver, which is a great occasion for the fans, for both the local fans and any fans that came from Vancouver. We need to be there for that, accept that it's a derby game, be on the front foot, be organized, be disciplined, and do what we need to do to win at home as it’s a very important game for us.”
Meanwhile, for Vancouver, they’re looking to emerge from a similar slump, as they’re also winless in their last six matches, with five of them being losses. They’ve fared slightly better offensively, scoring three times across those games, but have conceded 11 goals defensively, something they’d love to tidy up.
It won’t be easy, but given what they achieved in their last visit to Vancouver Island, which saw them claim their first-ever Canadian Championship victory in a penalty shootout win on May 6th, they’d love nothing more than to build off that result.
“I feel the team is excited about this occasion to turn the story and the narrative around for our season,” Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi said. “I think it's a big night for both teams, and when these two teams meet, it's always a big party, so there should be a lot of fireworks, for sure.”
In terms of roster availability, Pacific remains with a couple of long-term absences, and could be without Daniel de Pauli and Lukas Browning Lagerfeldt, while Vancouver looks set to welcome back Nicolás Mezquida and Pathe Ndiaye, which is a big boost, along with the return of Aidan O’Connor last week.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Too early for a must-win match? It always feels strange to use the words ‘must-win’ this early in a season, but given the form of both teams, this certainly feels like a game fitting of that moniker. At the very least, it feels like a ‘must-not-lose’, but for two teams short of confidence, they’ll both know that a draw won’t do them much good, either, so look for them to push for a victory. Sometimes, in a league like this, it’s important to build momentum, no matter if it comes in an ugly or scrappy win. Yet, that’s why this matchup is so fascinating, as it’s also a pretty intense derby, so there’s a reality where this match is quite scrappy and tightly-contested, with neither team willing to give up an inch to the other. Given that eight of the 10 derbies between these two teams have been decided by one goal, that’s been the case for most matches, anyway, although the circumstances might guarantee that trend will hold true once again.
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Can Yann Toualy inspire Pacific’s offence? With Pacific’s offensive struggles, it’s been hard to find many positives, but one bright spark lately has been the play of Yann Toualy, who has started to carve out a regular role out wide on this team. In his first professional season with Pacific, the 24-year-old, who was one of the standouts on the CS Saint-Laurent team that made a run in last year’s Canadian Championship, has done well to showcase some of those skills in a bigger role for Pacific. It hasn’t always been an easy start to life at his new club, as he adapts to the rigours of the professional game and what that requires, but he’s certainly got the skills to be a dangerous attacking piece. In fact, he’s done everything you’d want from him but score in recent weeks, doing a great job of threatening defenders with his 1v1 dribbling, but he’s still looking for that final action, having come close to scoring and assisting on a few occasions. Because of that, look for him to find his first goal contribution, as that could be what he needs to further spark his game, already continuing what has been a good stretch. For a Pacific team looking for any sources of offence, they certainly wouldn’t mind seeing that from him.
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Callum Irving looking to build off big performance: It’s never ideal when your goalkeeper is the busiest player in defeat, but Callum Irving did put in a strong performance for Vancouver in their most recent match, a 1-0 road loss to Halifax, making five saves and helping keep his team in the game until a 77th minute winner from Thomas Meilleur-Giguère. Because of that, look for him to build off that in this game, especially after his last visit to his old club, Pacific, which went quite well. That, of course, was that aforementioned Canadian Championship match, in which Irving made two key penalty saves to help Vancouver win a shootout on that day. He’ll hope to not have to face any penalties this time around, given that this is a regular season match, although he did save a penalty in a 2-1 Vancouver win over Pacific at Starlight on June 28, 2024, so it would be a full circle moment of sorts for him to save another one almost exactly a year later. No doubt, however, he’ll be up for this game, and his team will be pleased to see that, as he continues to be a key force at the back for them this season with a league-leading 47 saves, and will need to be key again if Vancouver is to emerge from this slump.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Pacific FC: Anchor; Chung, Machado, Ndom, Lajeunesse; Schiavoni, Young, Keshavarz; Bustos, Montejano, Toualy
Vancouver FC: Irving; Dada-Luke, Campagna, O'Connor, Bah; Fotsing, Norman Jr. , Fry; Mezquida, Batista; Campbell
ALL-TIME SERIES
Pacific FC wins: 3 || Vancouver FC wins: 6 || Draws: 1
Last meeting:
May 6, 2025 — Pacific FC 1-1 Vancouver FC (2-4 on penalties) (Canadian Championship)
KEY QUOTES
“We’ve set a certain standard here at the club season after season since the beginning, we've continued to build since 2019, winning a championship in 2021, and we were right there in 2022, 2023 and 2024 as well. Now, we're fighting towards the other end of the table, so we’ll put our hand up, we know it's not good enough, we know we need to improve, we need to be better on the field. Everyone, the staff, players, team, and organization, we want to give the fans what they want. The fans need to have those high expectations; they need to want to win. That’s why they're here and support us. We know that, so we need to continue to work hard, and we accept that challenge.” – Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
“We need to simplify the game a bit. When we do great chances, and not every chance you create is going to be a goal, but if we keep creating these good, grade A chances, they’re going to fall for us. This feels like a must-win game, because we haven't won six games, so it's three points for the taking. They're in the same spot as us, so we’re both feeling this as a team, we’re not in the best moment, so I think it's a huge game - I think it’s the biggest game so far of our season.” – Pacific FC attacker Marco Bustos
“What I'm proud of is how they've dealt with adversity, how they've been able to maintain their focus and concentration, how united they've been in difficult moments, and even though they are very unhappy about the results and are not happy about our position in the table, they're able to recognize that they're following the right process. They've stayed committed to that process, they've stayed committed to each other, and they've stayed committed to the vision, ideology and the ways we are working as a team. For me, that’s one of the greatest assets of any group, how united they can stay in difficult times, how they're growing from these difficult times, as these difficult periods define groups and define individuals.” – Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi
“At the end of the day, it's a real privilege for us to be able to play this game and to have people in the stands supporting us, whether that's at home or away, playing on TV. We get paid to do what we do; that’s always a privilege, right? So at the end of the day, you have to realize that, and come into a game with that excitement to play, that excitement to win, that excitement to perform. This Friday night is a perfect example, when you take a step back and look, I'm so grateful that I get to do what I love, and in situations like this, I don't want to come in scared, I don't want to come in thinking about the past results. I want to come in with a renewed sense of energy, focus, enthusiasm, and a willingness to fight for all three points and to enjoy ourselves while doing it.” – Vancouver FC goalkeeper Callum Irving
