2023 Leagues Cup Overview

For years, MLS and Liga MX have worked together to help grow the game in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Those efforts are taking on a new form as MLS and Liga MX teams will face off in the revamped 2023 Leagues Cup.

The Leagues Cup is an annual competition that pits every MLS and Liga MX club against one another. It started with four teams from each league participating in a single-elimination tournament in 2029.

That first iteration was won by Cruz Azul, who defeated Tigres in the final to win the inaugural trophy. The tournament was canceled in 2020 due to Covid but resumed in 2021 with Club Leon defeating the Seattle Sounders 3-2 in the final.

The Leagues Cup schedule starts on July 21st and goes through until August 19th. Both leagues start back up on August 20th. It will be interesting to see how the league schedules move around as teams advance.

Here is everything you need to know about the Leagues Cup!

Leagues Cup Format

Forty-seven MLS and Liga MX teams will enter into a new-look competition featuring a World Cup-style tournament. It will begin with a group stage followed by knockout rounds, with teams separated into four regions: East, West, South, and Central.

MLS stadiums throughout the country will host all seventy-seven matches over the next month. To cut down on travel costs, CONCACAF decided not to have Mexico host any games and keep all matches in the US and Canada.

Group Stage

The 2022 MLS Cup winner and 2022 Clausura winners advance straight to the Knockout Round. That means LAFC and Pachuca will start in the Round of 32.

Every other club will play at least two matches in the group stage, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockouts.

There will be no ties in the 2023 Leagues Cup group stage. At the end of regulation, if scores are level, both teams will receive one point, with the winner of a penalty shootout getting an additional point.

Knockout Rounds

The knockouts will be single elimination all the way through, starting with a round of 32 to an eventual final and third-place game.

The winner of the eventual third-place match will earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League, while both finalists will also earn spots in the CCL. The winner, though, will skip straight to the CCL last 16.

Leagues Cup Odds

As we said above, forty-seven teams are competing in the Leagues Cup. Here is the list of teams participating and their odds of winning the Leagues Cup.

Leagues Cup Soccer Predictions

Out of the forty-seven teams, there are three teams that everyone betting on soccer should watch at the 2023 Leagues Cup. Those three teams are Tigres, Sounders, and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Vancouver Whitecaps

The Whitecaps could be one of the most exciting teams in the Leagues Cup. They have been on a slow rebuild for the past four years that has been built for this moment. They could be more proven in a cup format, but they are one of the most inform teams in MLS. And at +5000, you can’t beat that.

Seattle Sounders

The second team from the Cascadia region on this list, the Seattle Sounders, has been to a Leagues Cup final before. They also have experience against Liga Max teams after winning the CCL in 2022. The Sounders consistently fight for trophies, so the Leagues Cup is no different.

Tigres

Despite finishing sixth in Liga MX last season, Tigres finished with the fourth-best expected goal differential, per fbref.com. They’ve also strongly started the 2023-24 Liga MX campaign, posting the league-leading goal differential through three fixtures.

Fans should note that Tigres have excelled in this competition. During the 2019 tournament, they reached the final before falling to Cruz Azul.

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