Wednesday, August 5 | 7:30 p.m. PT
🏟 | BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
🖥 | WATCH: Apple TV | Local Bar Partners
📻 | LISTEN: 710 AM ESPN, ESPN LA App, SiriusXM FC 157, KFWB 980 AM La Mera Mera (Spanish), KYPA 1230 AM (Korean)
LAFC hosts Liga MX club Chivas de Guadalajara at BMO Stadium on Wednesday night in both clubs’ opening match of Leagues Cup 2026.
The match is the first of three Phase One matches for LAFC in this 36-team tournament, which features all 18 clubs from Liga MX and 18 qualifying clubs from Major League Soccer. Only four teams from each league will advance from Phase One to the Quarterfinals. Getting off to a strong start on Wednesday night is critical to the trophy hopes of both LAFC and Chivas.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Leagues Cup awards three qualification spots to the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, the most prized club trophy in the region. This year’s Leagues Cup champion, runner-up, and third-place finisher will advance to the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, with the Leagues Cup champion gaining direct entry to the Round of 16.
- ALSO READ: What is Leagues Cup?
Leagues Cup matches that are tied at the end of full-time will advance to a penalty shootout, with the winner earning an extra point.
FLYING HIGH
LAFC – ranked 10th in the Leagues Cup Club Rankings - is unbeaten in MLS play since the World Cup break, with a record of 3W-0L-1D, and has not lost since May 17.
This past Saturday, the Black & Gold earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps that kept both clubs tied on points atop the Western Conference. Forward Son Heung-Min’s goal in the 37th minute against Vancouver marked the fourth straight match in which the Korean star has scored. Son leads MLS in assists (10) and led all players in this year’s Concacaf Champions Cup in that statistic as well (7).
Son has recorded 30 goal contributions (16g/14a) in the 30 MLS matches he has played for LAFC (including playoffs) since he joined from Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League one year ago this week.
Forward Denis Bouanga assisted Son’s goal on Saturday; it was Bouanga’s seventh assist of the season to go with his 10 goals. Only two MLS players, Leo Messi and Evander, have more goal contributions than Bouanga’s 17.
Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (below) leads MLS in clean sheets with 10 in just 16 appearances. He leads the league in fewest goals conceded among goalkeepers with at least 10 appearances.
ABOUT CHIVAS
Chivas - ranked 21st in the current Leagues Cup Club Rankings - finished second in the 2026 Clausura regular season with a record of 11W-3L-3D, then lost 4-3 on aggregate goals to eventual champions Cruz Azul in the semifinals, just before the World Cup break.
So far this season, in Apertura regular-season play Chivas has a record of 1W-1L-1D, losing at home to Toluca 2-0, defeating FC Juarez at home 1-0, and drawing with Puebla 1-1 on the road. Roberto Alvarado has scored both goals for Chivas this season. At this summer’s FIFA World Cup, Alvarado played 428 total minutes, leading all field players for Mexico during El Tri’s run to the Round of 16.
Chivas goalkeeper Raúl Rangel was Mexico’s first-choice keeper throughout the World Cup. Chivas captain and midfielder-defender Luis Romo scored the matchwinner against South Korea in Mexico’s 1-0 victory in the World Cup group stage. Midfielder Brian Gutierrez (four appearances, two starts, 198 minutes) and forward Armando Gonzalez (one appearance, 15 minutes) were also in Mexico’s World Cup squad.
Chivas usually plays in a 3-1-4-2 formation, with a three-man backline of Romo, Daniel Aguirre, and Jose Castillo Perez behind defensive midfielder Fernando Gonzalez. Alvarado and Armando Gonzalez usually start at forward, on top of a four-man midfield led by Gutierrez.
Liga MX legend Angel Sepulveda (79 career goals and 38 assists) provides a dangerous attacking option off the bench.
Founded in 1906, Chivas is one of the four remaining original members of Liga MX and brings a rich tradition and passionate fanbase to Los Angeles.
PHASE ONE LOOK-AHEAD
LAFC will host Toluca on August 8 and Querétaro on August 12, both at BMO Stadium, while Chivas will travel to San Jose to face FC Dallas and to Seattle to face the Seattle Sounders.
All Leagues Cup matches are broadcast on Apple TV, with select matches on FOX, FS1, Unimas, and Univision.
LAFC WILL WIN IF
It prevents Alvarado from getting touches in the box, maintains its defensive discipline, and rides the current attacking form of Son and Bouanga. LAFC’s defensive structure allows for penetration into its half of the field, but thrives on keeping the ball away from opposing attackers when they’re near Lloris’ goal.
LAFC ranks second in MLS in clearances, and eighth in shots on target allowed – despite playing more matches than every team in the top ten.
CHIVAS CAN WIN IF
Alvarado, Romo, and Company starve LAFC of possession and keep the Black & Gold from scoring the first goal.
Look for Chivas’ World Cup performers to try and negate the pro-LAFC crowd by keeping the ball and preventing LAFC from playing quickly and vertically on the counter through Son, Bouanga, and the right-wing tandem of Jacob Shaffelburg and David Martinez. Chivas has held possession for 78 percent and 65 percent of its last two matches in Liga MX.
