Inter Miami and Vancouver Whitecaps face off this Saturday in the MLS Cup final, which will be played at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Lionel Messi seeks to be crowned champion for the first time in the American tournament, while Thomas Muller also seeks to do so with the Canadian team that has been a surprise this season.

The final not only represents a historic opportunity for Inter Miami to win its first MLS Cup, Just five years after their first official match, it will also mark the farewell – dreamlike or bittersweet – of Spaniards Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, who will retire from professional football this Saturday. The Vancouver Whitecaps, like Inter Miami, find themselves facing a golden opportunity. Never before since joining MLS in 2011 had they reached this far in the playoffs, their best ever being two Conference semifinals in 2015 and 2017. This Saturday's match will be the third meeting between the two teams this season, following the Canadians' resounding defeat of Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals in May. The Vancouver Whitecaps won that tie 5-1 on aggregate, including a 3-1 away victory in the second leg, with Messi, Busquets, Alba, and Luis Suarez on the pitch, and when Muller was still living in Munich. — Probable lineups for the MLS Cup final — Inter Miami: Rocco Rios Novo; Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Maximiliano Falcon, Marcelo Weigandt, Mateo Silvetti, Sergio Busquets, Rodrigo De Paul, Baltasar Rodriguez, Tadeo Allende, Lionel Messi.

Vancouver Whitecaps: Yohei Takaoka; Tate Johnson, Ralph Priso-Mbongue, Mathias Laborda, Edier Ocampo, Andres Cubas, Sebastian Berhalter, Ali Ahmed, Thomas Muller, Emmanuel Sabbi, Brian White.

Referee: Drew Fischer (United States)