The Yankees and Astros have been on this heavyweight collision course for months, establishing early they were the class of the American League. Now — as anticipated — they will play for its title.

The Astros are the first team to advance to three straight League Championship Series since the 2011-13 Tigers. Those Detroit teams never finished it off by winning a title.

Houston already has one championship (2017) after it survived the Yankees in seven games in the ALCS. The Astros also beat the Yankees in the 2015 wild card. One more series win here would speak to dominance.

The Yankees have been eliminated by the eventual World Series champs each of the past two seasons, last year falling in the Division Series to the 108-win Red Sox. With the help of an advanced scout, video scouting coordinator, manager and coach, here is what the Yankees will be dealing with in facing the 107-win Astros.

Home field advantage — While the Yankees prioritized protecting especially their pitching down the stretch en route to 103 victories, the Astros won 12 of 14 to assure home field for as long as they are in the playoffs. Houston went an MLB-best 60-21 at home during the regular season, then 3-0 at home against the Rays in the Division Series. And remember that in the 2017 ALCS, the Yankees won all three games in the Bronx but none in Houston.

There have been suspicions that perhaps the Astros are doing something beyond the rules to gain an edge at Minute Maid Park — the Rays wondered about sign stealing in Game 5. At minimum, Houston has a psychological advantage at home. The manager said, “I just think their comfort level goes way up there. They are an exceptional team and then you put them in a place in which they are comfortable.”

Left field and the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid is akin to right field at Yankee Stadium. The video coordinator said, “You lift the ball in Houston and anything is possible.” Also, the wall juts out prominently and it is a deep alley in left-center, so defending that area is tough. Often the left fielder will shade toward that alley and concede that balls in the air will go off or over the high wall in left to allow time to move back toward the more traditional left field spot.

The coach said the Astros “are the most creative positioning team in the league, especially the outfield. They are very proactive with their outfield defense, especially in right field and at home. You will see (Josh) Reddick play on the line, way off the line, real shallow. It is more extreme than most teams.”

Rotation pitches — This period in baseball might be marked by the willingness of the Astros to find a way to obtain Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander and especially Gerrit Cole, who has slipped by the Yankees in the draft and on the trade market. The Rays forced the Astros to five games, moving Houston to use Verlander on three days’ rest in Game 4 and Cole in Game 5. Thus Cole will not be in play until Game 3, and we will see if going short once in October impacts the durability/excellence of the 36-year-old Verlander.

That still leaves Greinke in Game 1. In Greinke’s final start with Arizona before being dealt to Houston, the Yanks scored two runs in five innings. He is a modern-day Mike Mussina, not dominating with overpowering stuff like Cole/Verlander, but with location and savvy. The manager: “It is not about any single pitch with Greinke. He’s going to throw strikes, then expand and throw quality pitches just off the edges. You better have discipline against him.”

The coach said one key element in this series is if there is a home-plate umpire who calls high strikes when Cole and Verlander pitch because if so, the Yankees’ work becomes tougher. Not only is that pitch tough to hit — Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are particularly susceptible, especially if a starter can go hard up and in — but then both Cole and Verlander have the ability to tantalize further by inching just above the zone. Then they mix in breaking balls down and, well, good luck.

Verlander was the ALCS MVP in 2017, and the Yankees’ five main righty power bats — Judge, Stanton, Edwin Encarnacion, Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres — are a combined 11-for-100 (.110 average) with 31 strikeouts and four homers against him.

As for Cole, the scout said, “Cole is the best pitcher in the game right now. That fastball looks so good to hit up in the zone, but with the velocity, it is impossible to hit.” The video scout added: “It is an elite four-seam fastball with plus vertical movement, plus ride and plus velocity. He can dominate with just that one pitch. You can’t compete with that fastball up. You must find the discipline to only hunt the fastball below the belt.”

Houston did not use a fourth starter or an opener in the Division Series, but will probably have to in this series — just like the Yankees. Wade Miley was terrible down the stretch. Perhaps that means turning to young Jose Urquidy and his righty power versus the Yanks’ right-leaning lineup.

No soft spots — One word was repeated about the Astros lineup by all our experts — “relentless.” They were the first team ever to post both the lowest strikeout rate and highest walk rate in a season. They led the majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

The scout said, “Aside from (Yuli) Gurriel, you will get disciplined at-bats 1 through 9. The whole lineup will make contact without conceding impact. That is a tough combination. They are going to force extra pitches, and extra pitches lead to mistakes.”

The Rays, who thrive at run prevention, did well in the ALCS, in part by throwing a myriad of different arms at the Astros lineup. So expect that Aaron Boone, aggressive with his bullpen in the Division Series, will be even more so in the ALCS. Still, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino will need to efficiently/effectively get bulk outs. Severino’s ability to win in the strike zone against a team that does not chase much will be vital.

Carlos Correa, who missed half the season with a back ailment, was not much of a factor in the Division Series, and Houston’s lineup does not seem as long when he is not creating impact.

The soft spot — Houston’s bullpen is fine, but there is a drop-off between Greinke/Verlander/Cole plus closer Roberto Osuna (Judge is 0-for-9 against him with six whiffs) and the rest of the staff, especially if key setup man Ryan Pressly is not all the way back to dominance from the right knee surgery he had in August.

The scout: “Will Harris gets the big setup innings if Pressly is not healthy and he is good, but not as overpowering as a healthy Pressly.”

The coach: “The key to the series for me is can the Yankees win the fifth through seventh innings by getting to pitchers they want to face in those situations.” The video scout: ”You have to get the starters out and go to work against their middle relief. I wonder in a seven-game series with a couple of off-days if you see Osuna for more than three outs.”

Aggression — The Astros play with a swagger. As the coach said, “They play with pure aggression at the plate and on the bases. They are trying to disrupt everything you do. You must — I stress must — not let them dictate the play.”

The scout mentioned the athleticism that shows up on both sides of the ball and said that while the Astros do not steal many bases, they run the bases with fervor, seeking to get an extra 90 feet: “Outfielders have to understand if you do not charge the ball or you lob it in, you are going to give up a base to these guys.”

Houston hitters will try to dictate the pace of an at-bat by adjusting their batting gloves, moving in and out. Pitchers have to remember not to hurry up as a counter and to just go through their regular pattern to deliver a pitch. “If you have a routine, then go through the routine, no matter what they do,” the coach said. When Cole and Verlander are going well, they will quicken their pace, so hitters also have to not let the co-aces buzz through at-bats.