'We cannot change everything for a game': Austin FC prepares for several layers of different

Yes, the turf in BC Place is weird.

After last Saturday's 0-0 draw against Portland, Austin FC midfielder Dani Pereira granted that it was, answering my question in the affirmative, the "weirdest turf in the league."

It was also the first question out of the gate for head coach Nico Estévez, preparing his squad to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC, surprisingly the conference's best team through seven weeks. Add in Verde's positive 4-2-1 start, and Saturday's contest (with the odd 6:30 pm start time) is an unexpected marquee matchup involving two top-four West teams, even if it wasn't selected by the league's site as one of the three must-watch matches of the weekend.

"It's a challenge because that turf is a little bit different than others," he said of BC Place's notorious surface, which the Caps' site helpfully says is "Polytan Ligaturf 240 RS+ all-weather turf, which has recived a FIFA 2-star rating," also found in home stadiums for Borussia Mönchengladbach and Red Bull Salzburg.

"It is very bouncy ... and we just have to be smart, and don't try things that can put us in a difficult position," he added. "But it's also a turf that you can play. But we have to decide where areas we have to do it, and what moments and what parts of the field is inside or outside. But we cannot change everything for a game. We just have to adapt some things and adjust, as every team does when they go and play there."

Estévez has been impressed with what Vancouver's done this season, not only in managing their MLS matches, but thanks to their late comeback draw against Pumas on Wednesday, advancing to the Concacaf Champions League semifinals against Inter Miami. But he also asserts, "I think we have the right qualities to go there and make it a really, really hard game for them and try to get the win."

That's not just naive optimism; the Whitecaps are dealing with injuries to mainstays like designated player Ryan Gauld and Canadian international fullback Sam Adekugbe, along with Jayden Nelson, who has been one of the most exciting emergent new players in the league this season before being sidelined with a hamstring issue. Plus, CCL brings some schedule congestion to a mix that includes upcoming league matches against the likes of Minnesota and LAFC.

Also, once again, Estévez emphasized to his squad that they're getting in good positions to score and just need to close the deal, and in a concerning nod to last year's press conferences, confided to media that designated players Myrto Uzuni and Brandon Vázquez are scoring some fantastic goals in training sessions.

We'll set aside the talk of goals for now. Just know that Verde, with five goals on the season, is underperforming what FBref has as an 8.2 xG, with Vázquez and Uzuni stuck on one goal a piece despite much higher individual xG values (2.7 for the American and 1.9 for the Albanian).

Estévez is aware. The players are aware.

But also, Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka is tied with Verde goalkeeper Brad Stuver for most clean sheets in the league with four. Would another 0-0 result be a surprise?

Fullback questions remain

With Mikkel Desler still a couple of weeks from returning — Estévez said on Wednesday, "We expect him probably ready for around the beginning of May, to be ready ... hopefully, at the end of April, to start training with a group. He's progressing really well and we just have to be patient."

Over the last four matches, Verde has activated successive Short-Term Agreements for SuperDraft pick and current Austin FC II player Riley Thomas. Those have all been expended without Thomas actually seeing the field. To fill that hole in the lineup — and given what the club's done of late, we'll likely get an answer to this query later today — Verde has three options:

• Go ahead and sign Thomas to a supplemental agreement, which would allow him to bounce between the first and second team like CJ Fodrey and Jimmybryant Farkarlun for as long as he's needed (or, God forbid another injury, he's needed again);
• Plug another VerDos fullback in with a Short-Term Agreement, which, while a downgrade from Thomas, will only be an emergency activation given that existing first-team players can slot in at fullback if absolutely needed; or
• Sign a brand-new-to-Verde player to a supplemental deal or even (since they do have a domestic spot available and need to get up to 18 senior roster spots following the Leo Väisänen transfer to be MLS compliant again) a low-salary senior deal. Moontower Soccer floated the idea of ex-Earthquakes fullback and famed Duolingo Spanish learner Tommy Thompson, and it's not the worst idea.

'I don't try to take yellow cards'

The club made Besard Šabović available to the media on Wednesday, so of course the topic of yellow cards came up. In Saturday's match, Estévez was concerned about the number of cautions referee Drew Fischer distributed – including one on Šabović that puts him tied for the yellow card lead with Vázquez per MLS stats after seven games.

"I don't try to take yellow cards, but I try to play aggressively as much as I can, but not over the edge," he reasoned. "I think the referees here maybe can be sometimes a little bit too soft with the free kicks, but yeah, of course, I'm thinking about it, but I'm also trying to play on the edge."

Šabović hinted he's acclimating well to life in Austin, in part because of his burgeoning friendship with Uzuni.

"I have Albanian roots, and he's also Albanian. So we speak Albanian sometimes or almost all the time. And as you said, he comes from Europe. We came at the same time to Austin, so it was very easy to link up and be friends."

Also, Šabović was asked about turf – and given that he most recently played in Sweden, turf's something he's familiar with.

"I've grown up on turf, and the last two and a half years before I came here, I played on turf. So for me, it's very nice," he said. "Everybody likes real grass when it's good, but artificial, it's always consistent, even if it's bad weather or good weather. So I think that's the thing they like. It's always consistent."

Clearly, Šabović has never played in Vancouver. But should Saturday's lineup hold form with recent ones Estévez has chosen, he's about to.

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