Deportivo Toluca FC vs Sporting Kansas City Prediction & Betting Tips - Leagues Cup

Prediction published on 02/08/2023, 21:26  by Joseph King | Modified on 02/08/2023 at 21:27 in Football Predictions

The Leagues Cup round of 32 sees Liga MX side Toluca FC taking on MLS club Sporting KC. Toluca finished top of Group G with two wins from their two matches while Sporting KC finished as the Group F runners-up with four points. The winner of this fixture will take on the winner of the Columbus Crew vs Minnesota United matchup in the round of 16.

It’s been a good start to the new-look Leagues Cup tournament for Toluca. After a fourth-place finish in the 2022/23 Clausura campaign, Toluca have been able to carry some of that momentum over into the new season. Their fourth-place finish was the best league position the Red Devils had achieved since being crowned Clausura champions in 2017/18. They’ve started the new Liga MX Apertura with a win, a draw and a loss from the first three fixtures. With back-to-back wins in this competition, Toluca has now lost only once in their last six competitive matches dating back to last season. Ignacio Ambriz’s men have also shown an excellent scoring touch in this tournament. They blasted in four goals in each of their group stage matches, putting them tied with Philadelphia for the top-scoring team in the Leagues Cup.

Sporting Kansas City were highly impressive in their last outing, securing a 1-0 win over a tough Chivas team. They’ll again have the home field advantage here with the match being played at Sporting Park. The hosts have been markedly better on home soil, earning 1.42 average points per game in the 2023 MLS season compared to an average of just 0.69 points per away trip. They’ve nearly doubled their goal output as well with 20 goals to 11 on the road and see their expected goals total take a jump from 1.42 per away game to 1.76 per home outing. A strong run in the Leagues Cup could provide Sporting with some much-needed momentum heading back into the MLS regular season. They currently sit 11th in the West and are three points off a potential playoff spot.