2023 Leagues Cup Knockout Round: Bracket, schedule, live stream info
By Jason Cozad
Day three of the 2023 Leagues Cup knockout round is the last day for teams to be able to get into the Round of 16. Will there be enough fight for these teams to move on?
The 2023 Leagues Cup knockout rounds end on day three, where the soccer world will see two more MLS matches and four MLS vs. Liga MX matches. By the end of the day, six teams will move on to the Round of 16, and six teams will pack their bags and head home. Now let’s see what the last day has in store for all of us.
Columbus Crew vs. Minnesota, Aug. 4, 8:00 p.m. ET, Lower.com Field
Columbus Crew vs. Minnesota will be one of the two matchups today between MLS teams. These two teams have met five times, with Columbus holding the slight victory margin. Columbus has won three, whereas Minnesota has won two matches with no draws. These two teams last met in September 2020, when Minnesota fell to a 2-1 loss.
Columbus Crew was the winner of the Central 1 group with six points. On the first day of action, Columbus was able to hold off St. Louis City with a 2-1 victory. In the second match, Columbus came in and wanted to show they were no team to sleep on, beating Club America 4-1, allowing them to advance to the Round of 32.
Minnesota finished as the runner-up in the Central 2 group with three points. Minnesota walked in with their heads held high and ready for anything that would throw at them. This showed when the first match came up, and they were able to have a 4-0 run on Puebla. They faced Chicago Fire four days later, where their luck ran out a little, and they lost 3-2.
In the last six Columbus Crew matches, we have been able to see 13 goals, whereas Minnesota has been able to score 15 goals. This will be a good matchup, but Minnesota’s luck might have run out too early when they faced Chicago Fire, where Columbus is still running strong.
The prediction for this match is Columbus Crew 3 and Minnesota 1.
FC Cincinnati vs. Nashville SC, Aug 4, 8:00 p.m. ET, TQL Stadium
This match will be the second showdown between MLS teams for the day. FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC have met each other nine times, and Nashville SC has the match-up lead with four wins. Cincinnati has pulled out three wins, and the teams have drawn two times. These two teams last met on July 15, 2023, when Cincinnati came out on top 3-1.
FC Cincinnati won the Central 3 group with five points, but those five points took work for this team. In the first match, Cincinnati played to a 3-3 draw but finally shut down Sporting KC with a 4-2 penalty kick win. The second match took two days to complete due to the weather. The match against Chivas started on July 27, 2023, until the match was postponed due to weather in the 60th minute, where Cincinnati was leading 2-0. The match continued on July 28, 2023, and Cincinnati finished with a 3-1 win over Chivas.
Nashville SC finished as the runner-up in the Central 4 group with three points. On the first day, Nashville beat Colorado 2-1. In the second match, Nashville came in and started making defensive errors against Toluca’s not-so-hot team. Due to these errors, Nashville lost 4-3.
Cincinnati is at the top of the MLS Eastern standings with only losing two matches in 23 MLS matches, which should already get people looking at Cincinnati as the favorite to win this match against a team that was giving up goals due to the defense and not staying up to par.
The prediction for this match is Cincinnati 2 and Nashville 0.
Chicago Fire vs. Club America, Aug. 4, 8:00 p.m. ET, SeatGeek Stadium
Chicago Fire and Club America had only met once before, back in 2013, in a club friendly, where Club America won 3-2. Chicago Fire is eighth in the MLS Eastern standings with eight wins, eight draws, and seven losses. Club America is 12th in Liga MX with a record of one win and one loss.
Chicago Fire finished as the winner of the Central 2 group with four points. In Chicago’s first match, they were able to tame the hot Minnesota United team and come out with a 3-2 victory. On the second day, all Chicago had to do to win Central 2 was to tie Puebla, which they succeeded. They played Puebla to a 1-1 draw but then fell short with a 10-9 penalty kick loss.
Club America finished as the runner-up in the Central 1 group with three points. Club America coming into their first match, already knew that if they beat St. Louis City, they would be in the knockout rounds due to St. Louis City losing four days before the Club America match. Club America gained their spot in the Round of 32 with a 4-0 win. The second match was to determine the winner in Central 1. Club America fell short and lost 4-1 to Columbus Crew.
Even with Chicago sitting in 8th in the MLS Eastern standings, more might be needed for them to take down the high-flying Club America. Yes, Club America did lose 4-1 to the Crew, but they showed they could play against MLS teams when they won 4-0 over St. Louis.
The prediction for this match is Club America 2 and Chicago Fire 0.
Sporting KC vs. Toluca, Aug. 4, 9:00 p.m. ET, Children’s Mercy Park
Sporting KC and Toluca have played against each other two times before, and Sporting KC has come out the victor both times. If you look at both matches played against these two teams, Toluca has yet to be able to score a single goal against Sporting KC.
Sporting KC finished as the runner-up in Central 3 with four points. The first match saw Sporting KC play to a 3-3 draw and then drop the extra point in the penalty kicks, losing 4-2. The second match saw Sporting KC emerge as the victor over Guadalajara 1-0, but it wasn’t easy to get.
Toluca finished as the winner of Central 4 with six points. In the first match, Toluca had to work a bit to make sure they got the first three points but was able to with a 4-3 win over Nashville. In the second match, Toluca had to play to a draw to move on to the Round of 32, but that was not good enough for them. Toluca came out swinging and steamrolled Colorado to a 4-1 victory, claiming the top spot in the Central 4.
Even though Toluca has not beaten Sporting KC in any match play, they have put up eight goals in the last two Leagues Cup matches, where Sporting KC dropped the ball and could have gained three points in their first match. Toluca is firing on all cylinders right now.
The prediction for this match is Toluca 2 and Sporting KC 1.
Portland Timbers vs. Monterrey, Aug. 4, 10:00 p.m. ET, Providence Park
Portland Timbers and Monterrey are set to face each other for the first time. Portland has a record of two wins, two draws, and one loss, whereas Monterrey has four wins and one draw within the last five matches in their preceptive computations.
Portland Timbers finished runner-ups in the West 1 group with three points. In the first match, the Timbers had SJ Earthquakes come into Providence Park, where Portland showed why this was their home with a 2-0 win. In the second match, Tigres UANL invaded Providence Park and stopped all of Portland’s momentum. Portland lost 2-1.
Monterrey finished the winner of West 2 with six points. Monterrey came into this group and showed why they are the powerhouse team they are, beating Real Salt Lake 3-0 and then rolling into Luman Field in Seattle and beating the Sounders 2-4.
In the last five matches Monterrey had played, they have scored 12 goals and have only given up three, whereas Portland has only scored seven goals and has given up eight. Monterrey is looking like the way better team in this match, and it doesn’t help that Portland is sitting near the bottom of the standings in the MLS West, where Monterrey is putting up a big fight in the Apertura, along with sitting at the top of the Clausura standings pretty much all of last year.
The prediction for this match is Monterrey 2 and Portland 0
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Tigres UANL, Aug. 4, 10:30 p.m. ET, BC Place
This will be the last match-up of the Knockout Rounds, and it could be one-sided. Vancouver and Tigres have played each other two times before, with Tigres taking both games. In the last five matches, Tigres has three wins and two draws, whereas Vancouver has three wins and two losses.
Vancouver Whitecaps finished as the runner-up in the West 3 group with four points. In the first match, the Whitecaps could not hold on any longer when they went into a very long penalty kick showdown with Club Leon. After ending the match with Club Leon with a 2-2 draw, the battle started, taking 32 penalty kicks combined; Vancouver’s last kick went off the goal post and ultimately came up short, 16-15. The Whitecaps then rolled into Carson, CA, and took down LA Galaxy with a score of 2-1 to advance to the Knockout rounds.
Tigres UANL finished at the top of the West 1 group with six points. Tigres got the ball rolling for them in the first match with a 2-1 win over Portland. In the second match against SJ Earthquakes, all Tigres had to play to a draw to lock up the top spot in West 1 and move on to the Round of 32. San Jose played a decent game until the 19th minute when Tigres scored the only goal in the match and came to a 1-0 victory.
Tigres has not lost a single game since the start of their season and has come in swinging hard in the Leagues Cup, where Vancouver has won only two matches since July 15th, which were to an immensely struggling LA Galaxy team. This is not an excellent match-up for Vancouver when they play.
The prediction for this match is Tigres 2 and Vancouver 1.