Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Leagues Cup clash between Los Angeles FC and Club Tijuana, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
The first Group G fixture in the 2024 Leagues Cup will feature Los Angeles FC hosting Club Tijuana on Friday at BMO Stadium.
Monterrey eliminated Black and Gold a year ago in the quarter-finals of this tournament (3-2), while Tijuana failed to collect a single point in the group stage.
Match preview
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Los Angeles enter this competition brimming with confidence, suffering just one defeat in their previous 16 competitive fixtures.
Last year, Steve Cherundolo‘s men did not have to compete in the group portion of this tournament, having been put through to the knockout stage because they were the reigning MLS Cup champions then.
Heading into this encounter, the 2023 MLS Cup runners-up have looked virtually unbeatable on home soil, winning eight of their last 10 matches played at BMO Stadium in all competitions, scoring three or more goals in six of those encounters.
In their two Leagues Cup fixtures at BMO Stadium last year, the Black and Gold blew away the opposition, winning both games by a combined margin of 11-1.
In 2024, the Black and Gold have only been behind in two domestic home contests, collecting just one point in those encounters combined.
All three of their Leagues Cup encounters versus Mexican opposition took place in California, with the Black and Gold winning only one of those fixtures, 7-1 over Juarez at BMO Stadium last year.
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After a strong start to the new Liga MX Apertura campaign, winning their first two games, Tijuana enter this tournament on a two-match winless run in that competition.
Back in 2023, both of Tijuana’s matches at this tournament were there for the taking, but the Mexicans came out on the losing end in both instances, scoring just once along the way.
So far this year, La Jauria have not lost a competitive match when scoring first, while they are also winless when conceding the opening goal.
Juan Carlos Osorio‘s men have been better away from home domestically this month, claiming four out of a possible six points in the 2024 Apertura while suffering just one defeat as the visitors since April (4-1 at Tigres).
This will be their third appearance at this tournament, and the Mexicans are still seeking their first-ever victory, with their best result being a 2-2 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2019, losing that quarter-final match on penalties (3-1).
All three of their Leagues Cup defeats came versus MLS teams, while their only competitive victory against an American opponent occurred in the 2014 CONCACAF Champions Cup when they defeated the Galaxy in Mexico 4-2.
Los Angeles FC form (all competitions):
Club Tijuana form (all competitions):
Team News
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Last Saturday, in their 3-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders, LAFC were without Cristian Olivera and Timothy Tillman due to knocks, Luis Muller is dealing with a sore hip and Lorenzo Dellavalle is out for the season with a torn ACL.
We could see the debut of Olivier Giroud at the Leagues Cup with the Frenchman signing for LA from AC Milan, though it is uncertain in what capacity he may feature, while the club also recently transferred Mamadou Fall to Barcelona.
At the 2023 Leagues Cup, Denis Bouanga led the Black and Gold with six goals, the third-most in that competition behind Bongokuhle Hlongwane (seven) and Lionel Messi (10).
Tijuana are likely to be without Carlos Valenzuela for this encounter as he is recovering from a knee injury and is not projected to return until late August.
From matchday three to four of the Apertura campaign, only four players maintained their place in the starting 11, Jose Antonio Rodriguez, Kevin Balanta, Joe Corona and Emanuel Reynoso.
Carlos Gonzalez was the only Tijuana player to find the back of the net in this competition last year, a mere consolation in their 3-1 defeat to the Philadelphia Union.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Murillo, Chanot, Long; Hollingshead, Sanchez, Atuesta, Campos; Bogusz, Ordaz, Bouanga
Club Tijuana possible starting lineup:
Rodriguez; Fernandez, Balanta, Bilbao, Contreras; Corona, Rivera; Alvarez, Reynoso, Vega; Castaneda
We say: Los Angeles FC 3-0 Club Tijuana
LA know how to handle a big stage like this, and their squad, on paper, are superior to Tijuana in virtually every respect, so if they can score once, we believe the floodgates will open.
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