Los Angeles FC vs Monterrey Prediction & Betting Tips - Leagues Cup

Prediction published on 10/08/2023, 15:45  by Devesh Jaganath in Football Predictions

The quarter-finals of the Leagues Cup will be played out this week, with LAFC taking on Monterrey on Saturday morning. The winner of this match will go on to face either Minnesota United or Nashville SC in the penultimate round. LAFC won the MLS Cup 2022, which allowed them automatic qualification to the round of 32 in this competition. The hosts have been excellent to this stage, recording two big wins in their previous two rounds. LAFC beat Juarez 7-1 in their first match and followed up with a 4-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in midweek. With that win, LAFC extended their record to five matches unbeaten in all competitions, including three wins and two draws. The MLS team is currently in second place in the Western Conference after 23 games and are still well in the title race, currently just four points behind leaders St Louis City. After leading the league for a fair while, the hosts hit a rough patch at the start of last month, losing three consecutive league games against Vancouver, Dallas, and a struggling LA Galaxy. However, since then, they are unbeaten in their last three league games, with two draws and a win and are on a three-match winning streak in home matches. LAFC are only marginal favourites in this match. 

Meanwhile, the 2022 Liga MX Clausura winners, Monterrey, were drawn into the West 2 group in qualifying and won both their matches over Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders. In the knockout stages, the visitors beat Portland Timbers and Tigres UANL, both by a 1-0 scoreline. With those wins, Monterrey are now on a six-match winning streak and unbeaten in their last eight matches, including the final three fixtures at the end of last season. The visitors managed 40 points in Clausura last term, finishing seven points ahead of Club America. They recorded 13 wins, one draw and just three losses in their 17 matches. Monterrey’s greatest strength last season was their defence, which only conceded 14 goals in the second phase of the season and was by far the best record in the league. They have kept six clean sheets in their last eight matches in all competitions leading up to this fixture. Monterrey have not faced this opponent before, but the bookies are giving them healthy respect, with very little to choose between them and LAFC in terms of odds.