Much like Thanos, an ALCS matchup between the Yankees and Astros was inevitable.

The two best teams in the American League have assembled to bring us a rematch of the 2017 ALCS, and this time both teams are facing World-Series-or-Bust expectations. While Houston was a team of destiny the first time, some would argue that the Yankees can lay claim to that moniker this year.

MORE: Was Rays' Tyler Glasnow tipping his pitches in ALDS Game 5?

This is going to be a heavyweight fight. There's not much debate that the Yankees and Astros are the two best teams in the American League and likely the two best, deepest and most well-rounded teams remaining in the playoffs. While Houston took the season series vs. New York 4-3, the Astros lost three of their last four games in New York in June.

The Yankees hope to avenge that 2017 loss en route to championship No. 28, but who has the edge? Sporting News takes a quick look at both squads ahead of ALCS Game 1 on Saturday.

Offense/lineup

While both teams perfectly exemplify offensive baseball in 2019, there's nothing that either team can't do offensively.

Need contact? Michael Brantley and DJ LeMahieu give you a bit of that.

Want power? How can you not love George Springer, José Altuve and Alex Bregman? On the other side, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton can put baseballs in the seats.

How about some speed? Both teams boast speed off the bench and in the field, but don't expect either team to steal a lot of bags.

There is zero give in both lineups, but with the depth in the Yankees' outfield and Gary Sanchez being a marked improvement over both Martin Maldonado and Robinson Chirinos at the plate on his threat of power alone, it's hard not to give the Yankees the nod here. But, boy, it is close.

Edge: Yankees

Starting rotation

While each of Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and Luis Severino gave the Yankees exactly what they needed in the ALDS, each carry their question marks. Will Paxton settle down in the first inning? Severino was very bend-not-break in his ALDS start, working into and out of a bases-loaded jam and getting stronger as his appearance went on.

Even though the Tampa Bay-Houston leg of the ALDS went five games, it's hard not to look at the Astros rotation and drool.

Cole's historic ALDS was nothing short of dazzling, with 25 strikeouts — the most ever in an ALDS — and throwing 99 mph with over 100 pitches in the game.

Then, there's Justin Verlander who … well, you know about Justin Verlander. He's the ultimate gamer. In his first ALDS start, he blanked the Rays, going seven innings, allowing one hit on eight strikeouts. Then there's Zack Greinke, who hasn't had a great postseason career, but he's still Zack Greinke.

This isn't to discredit the Yankees' starting rotation, which features no slouches. In their three-game sweep of the Twins, the Yankees' starters pitched 14 1/3 innings and allowed just four runs over that span. That's just enough production and length to turn it over to their unreal bullpen.

But as far as reputation goes and production this postseason, the Astros have the clear advantage.

Edge: Astros

Bullpen

Not much of a surprise or debate here. Even with an injury to Dellin Betances, the Yankees have boasted the deepest and most well-rounded relief units in the game. That's been the most constant part of the team all season long, and it's continued into the postseason.

Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahnle, Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman head up the Yankees' A-Team in the bullpen, while Chad Green and J.A. Happ (presumably) will head up the backup squad. The Astros bullpen isn't bad, but the middle innings are a question mark in the bridge to Roberto Osuna.

Expect the Astros to lean heavily on their rotation as the ALCS gets underway. Astros starters pitched 30 innings in the ALDS, and that includes short clunkers from Verlander and Greinke.

Edge: Yankees

Defense

Defense is a hard thing to measure because there's so much that goes into it. Who's on the mound? What do the analytics say about defense? Who's got better range? How is the pitching staff constituted? Those are just a few of the questions you have to ask.

The Astros are well above average defensively at nearly every position on the diamond. Interestingly enough, of the team's starters, the only player with negative defensive runs saved on the season is José Altuve, with -2.

The Astros boast one of the best defensive outfields in baseball with George Springer, Josh Reddick, Jake Marisnick and Michael Brantley.

Edge: Astros

Manager/coaching staff

The job that Aaron Boone has done in 2019 has been remarkable. Facing injury after injury, he was the common thread behind the Yankees winning 103 games and is the first Yankees manager in history to begin his career with two straight 100-win season.

The biggest knock on Boone has been his management of the bullpen, something he seems to have corrected in 2019, both regular and postseason.

That said, it's hard not to give the nod to Houston here. AJ Hinch has been there, done that, has a World Series ring and is going to the ALCS for the third year in a row. While the Astros and Hinch lean on the analytics side of things, arguably no one has a better feel for a game than Hinch.

Edge: Astros

Overall

Both teams are about as evenly matched as it gets, but what we've seen this postseason is that starting pitching plays, and among Cole, Verlander and Greinke, the Astros have a bit of an advantage from the rubber, at least for starters.

If the Yankees can score quickly and get into the Astros' bullpen early, they have a good shot to upend Houston and keeping them from their second World Series appearance in three years.

Expect the Yankees to showcase a lot of patience at the plate — something they're used to doing — and making Astros starters work. For the Astros, they'll play aggressive and want to jump on the Yankees' starters early, even if that means getting to the bullpen sooner.

No matter how it shakes out, it's gonna be a heck of a series.