Leagues Cup Matchday 2 is here with 5 games on Tuesday, 6 on Wednesday and 4 on Thursday.
We’ll focus on the games on Tuesday for these Leagues Cup predictions today before getting into more games later this week.
Monterrey vs Austin Prediction
Austin came into Leagues Cup in poor form but this tournament is a fresh start for the Verde and they came out with an unexpected 3-2 win over Mexican side Pumas on Matchday 1 (MD1).
The game was wild. Austin scored first. Then new signing Osman Bukari took two yellows within 6 minutes to make his debut short-lived. Against the odds, Austin scored again to go up 2-0 but Pumas would score late in the half to cut it to 2-1.
Into the second half and again, it’s another Austin goal while playing down a man, with Sebastian Driussi coming back from a suspension to extend the lead to 3-1 early in the half.
Pumas cut it to 3-2 in the 72’ minute and looked to have a great chance in 2nd half stoppage time to equalize on a PK but was stopped by Stefan Cleveland.
The result was more impressive with Stefan Cleveland in net for Austin who had not played in a year, with starter Brad Stuver getting the night off.
Monterrey, Los Rayados make their debut in the tournament Tuesday after being off on MD1. They finished 4th in the tournament last season.
This season in the LigaMX Apertura, they’re 3-0-1, with wins of 1-0, 1-0 and 2-1 and one blowout loss (4-0) to Cruz Azul.
Look further back and Monterrey’s record is only so-so at 8-2-7. But losses have come to Chivas, Leon, Columbus (2) and Cruz Azul (3).
A game against Austin, a team they’ve never played is a step down from those.
Austin could be gassed after that wild MD1 playing down a man most of the game and the have only 3 wins in 12 games.
- Leagues Cup Predictions: Monterrey to win (+100)
Leagues Cup Parlay Picks
Atletico San Luis vs CF Montreal Prediction
Ex-NYCFC coach Domenec Torrent and his San Luis team are sitting near the middle of the Apertura at 1-2-1 after a 4-1 win, 2-2 draw, 2-0 loss and 1-1 draw. That’s a fair amount of goals in their games. BTTS is 3-1. Over 1.5 is 4-0.
Go back to last season and BTTS is 9-2 and there’s been 2 or more goals in 13 straight of their games. There’s been 3+ in 11/13.
They only have 4 wins in 19. 3 of those 4 wins were at home, somewhere they won’t be here. Away from home they have 1 win in 10 and have been outscored 22-10 in those games going back into last season. They’ve given up multiple goals in 8 of those 10.
On MD1, Montreal played Orlando and got routed. They were down 4-0 and pulled one back to go on to lose 4-1, the goal coming from Josef Martinez. Orlando piled up the chances with 24 attempts and 10 shots on target.
Montreal have only lost 4 times in 13, but they also only have 3 wins in 13 and 3 wins in 21 in all comps.
Montreal has allowed at least 1 goal in 8/9, scored in 7/9 and there’s been 2+ goals in 7/9 of their recent games.
These teams have never met.
In this first meeting I see goals between two teams that don’t play in many tight games. Go for the “Both Teams to Score” or the safer Over 1.5 in the soccer picks for this parlay.
- Leagues Cup Predictions: Over 1.5
LAFC vs Vancouver Whitecaps Prediction
LAFC closed out Friday’s Day 1 games with a resounding thumping of Club Tijuana by a 3-0 score, with 2 goals from Cristian Oliviera and another from Denis Bouanga. LAFC had only 31% possession, but they put 10 shots on target from 20 attempts.
LAFC are now 14-2-1 in their last 17 games in all comps.
The Caps have risen to 5th in West, just 3 points off a stop 4 spot. This after a run that saw them go undefeated in 6 games, but they did lose 4-3 to Houston in their last game.
Ryan Gauld went off injured last game with a knee injury and missed the All-Star Game. His availability is in question for the Leagues Cup. With Gauld, Vancouver has struggled when stepping up in class and against LAFC, their chances don’t look good without him.
They will still have Brian White who has 7 goals in his last 7 games. With White in form Vancouver is always dangerous offensively and have scored in 11 of their past 12 games. Their games have been pretty open with Over 2.5 hitting in 9/11 MLS games, BTTS hitting in 11/12 and BTTS & Over 2.5 9/11 as well.
These teams have met a ton of times recently with LAFC usually coming out on top. They won 3-0 this season in LA.
Last year they played 6 times. Twice in the Champions Cup also won 3-0 both times by LA.
Then the next 4 went like this: 3-2 Vancouver, 1-1, 5-2 LA and 1-0 LA.
So LAFC is 5-1-1 in those 7 games the past two seasons outscoring the Caps 18-6.
The Caps just gave up to 4 to Houston and then 4 to Wrexham in a friendly. Against a high-flying LAFC team, I’ll ask LA to score at least 2.
- Leagues Cup Predictions: LAFC over 1.5
- Parlay Picks: MTL vs ASL over 1.5 / LAFC over 1.5 (-123) OR, a for better odds BTTS in MTL vs ASL for (+130)
Pachuca vs New York Red Bulls Prediction
Pachuca is off to a slow start in LigaMX in 12th at 1-1-2 and their games have all been close scoring just twice and allowing just 3 times.
No one will be too upset though after they won the Champions Cup over Columbus in June. They also reached the quarterfinals of the Clausura.
Overall Pachuca has been strong with only 8 losses across comps in their last 30 games.
Salomon Rondon won the best forward award last season in LigaMX but he’s yet to score this season.
The Red Bulls opened their Leagues Cup on Saturday and despite a history of dominating TFC, went into PKs drawn 0-0 and eventually lost in the 7th round of spot kicks. It was their first home loss all season.
It was their first loss anywhere in 8 games as well.
Still, the Red Bulls haven’t won much lately being 2-7-1 in regulation in their past 10.
These teams have never met.
At +175 to +200 odds I think the value is on Pachuca depending on the book. This team just won Champions Cup. But both have been playing in tight games and not winning much lately. Perhaps we see a draw.
- Leagues Cup Predictions: Draw (+250)
Minnesota United vs Necaxa Prediction
These teams have never met.
It’s been a 1-1-2 start (11th) for Necaxa in the Apertura.
Go back further and they have just 1 win in 5, but only 7 losses in 25.
They’ve scored in 18/20 but also conceded in 18/20, including in 8 straight.
The Loons hung tough with Seattle for most of the game on MD1 until going down a man. Hasani Dotson misses out after seeing red vs Seattle.
And while they came close to hanging on for PKs, the Sounders got 2 late goals to win 2-0 and extend their dominance over Minnesota.
There are some signs of improvement from the Loons after a 2-0 win (SJ) and being tied for most of the game with Seattle, but still, they have just 1 win over the worst team in MLS in 11 games and that is their only clean sheet in 18 games.
- Leagues Cup Predictions: Both to Score & Over 2.5 (-125)
Ryan Métivier is a seasoned editor, writer and communications professional with years of experience in all fields. When it comes to covering sports, he’s written for numerous outlets and organizations including the OHL, CHL, SportsXpress, Sports Betting Dime, Cleveland.com, MassLive, FanSided and others.
While he’ll always cheer for his hometown Toronto teams, when it comes to betting, his only allegiance is his bankroll. Ryan specializes in global soccer, the NFL and the NHL, but if there is a bet to be made, he’ll make it. As the founder of Shred The Spread, Ryan focuses on combining storylines, trends, analytics and good bankroll management to creating simple bets that make sense.
When not making a case for why both teams will score in an MLS soccer match, he can be found focusing his efforts on fitness, attempting to learn Spanish, cooking or planning his travel adventure.
