Austin FC enters playoffs as underdog

Driving the news: Austin opens a best-of-three series against LAFC on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

• Game 2 is in Austin at 7:30pm Sunday. (Game 3, if necessary, is back in LA on Nov. 8.)
• The series winner will advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

State of play: Austin beat LAFC 1-0 twice during the regular season.

Yes, but: South Korean superstar Son Heung-Min, who joined LAFC in August, missed the team's last Austin FC match because he was captaining his national team in pre-World Cup friendlies.

• LAFC is the odds-on favorite to win the series and advance.
• Austin has some of the longest odds to win the cup.

Zoom in: The LAFC series will feature a clash of styles.

• The Verde and Black scored the fewest goals (37) in the West during the regular season. Instead, the team has relied on its defense, including goalkeeper Brad Stuver, who was on the field for every minute of play this year.
• LAFC's attacking style produced 65 goals, with 24 coming from Denis Bouanga, runner up for this year's MLS Golden Boot.

What we're watching: Whether Austin's offense will run through Owen Wolff, former head coach Josh Wolff's son, who is the team's unlikely scoring leader this season.