Leagues Cup Quarterfinals Preview | OneFootball

The Leagues Cup has one of the most unforgiving group stages around. Only the top four MLS and Liga MX advance out of a possible eighteen teams. Every goal mattered, as Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew discovered. They tied LA Galaxy and Orlando City on points, but failed to qualify based on goal differential.

These quarterfinals will all be contested on the same day: Wednesday, August 20. They are single-elimination matches that go directly to a penalty shootout if tied at the end of regulation. The winners move onto the semifinals. Below is the Hooligan take on what’s likely to happen, and which four teams are going to make it through.

Inter Miami CF vs. Tigres UANL

8:00pm ET @ Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, FLStreaming on AppleTV+ MLS Season PassBroadcast on FS1 and UniMás

Miami has impressed in this tournament, despite losing Lionel Messi to injury early in the second match against Club Ámerica.

One of their strengths is a wide talent net. Their seven goals were scored by six different players, only Tadeo Allende hit the net twice. With Messi back and in stellar form (he scored and had an assist in last weekend’s 3 – 1 rout of LA Galaxy), plus the home stadium advantage, Miami is the odds on favorite.

This takes nothing away from challengers Tigres UANL, however.

Although they lost to LAFC in their final match, Tigres dominated the stats with over 62% possession, double the number of shots and 6 to 5 shots on frame. Hugo Lloris was the difference then. They also have a dynamic Argentine goal scorer, Ángel Correa, who co-leads the Golden Boot running with four goals in the tournament.

Hooligan Take: Miami will win 3 – 1. Both Correa and Messi will score.

Toluca vs. Orlando City SC

8:50pm ET @ Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CAStreaming on AppleTV+ MLS Season Pass

As the higher ranked team, Toluca are technically the home side.

I suspect their supporters might even be in the majority given Orlando’s distance relative to Toluca’s, and the demographic composition of the Los Angeles basin.

Not that Toluca will need much help. Their last defeat came in the Apertura before the Leagues Cup group stage kicked off; they’ve gone 4W, 1D since then. They’re not the tightest ship, conceding goals in all but one of those fixtures, but they’re steely enough to get the job done. One potential weakness is a heavy reliance on two players for goals. Paulinho is tied with Tigres’ Ángel Correra on four so far; Jesús Angulo has the other two. If Orlando can stop both, it could be a long night for Toluca.

Orlando City is coming into this match HOT. Their MLS form is strong, with 4W, 1L.

Lucas Muriel may lead in tournament goals (3) but Martin Ojeda is blistering right now. He has 9g/14a in his last 15 games, and has made a goal contribution in every single game. Impressive.

Hooligan Take: Toluca shall prevail 2 – 1.

Seattle Sounders vs. Puebla

11:00pm ET @ Lumen Field, Seattle, WAStreaming on AppleTV+ MLS Season PassBroadcast on FS1 and UniMás

Since their poor showing at the Club World Cup, Seattle has scored 29 goals and conceded 13 in a run of eleven games.

Their only hiccup was a 1 – 0  defeat to Minnesota United last Saturday. The seven goals they scored in a single half against Cruz Azul serves as a warning to any team coming into Lumen Field: be careful! With goals from eight different players in the group stage, the danger can come from any position.

The good news is Puebla qualified, though they accomplished that via some questionable foo around goal differential.

Outside of their two Leagues Cup wins, they’ve dropped four games in the Apertura by wide margins. That’s not terribly promising, particularly given Seattle’s recent form.

Hooligan Take: Seattle should cruise on past in a 3 – 0 win.

LA Galaxy vs. Pachuca

11:45pm ET @ Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CAStreaming on AppleTV+ MLS Season Pass

Don’t be fooled. Leagues Cup LA Galaxy isn’t the same as MLS’ LA Galaxy.

MLS Galaxy has lost their last two games by a combined score of 7 – 1 and sit dead last in the standings. Leagues Cup Galaxy won two games 9 goals to zero and lost a penalty shootout 8 – 7. Nobody knows why they’re performing better against Liga MX sides, but they are. Joseph Paintsil and Matheus Nascimento each have three goals.

Much like the Seattle Sounders, Pachuca came out of a disappointing Club World Cup tournament and have been on fire ever since.

The Tuzos advanced with close wins over San Diego and Houston Dynamo, plus a penalty shootout loss to LAFC. They currently sit atop the Liga MX Apertura with a 4W, 1L record. They will not be pushovers.

Hooligan Take: MLS-edition LA will show up, and Pachuca will win 2 – 1.