Earlier this summer, Los Angeles FC and Pachuca both burst from the continental stage onto the global one, competing in the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup in the United States. Though neither team made it out of the group stage — LAFC picked up one point, while Pachuca was one of five teams to lose all three matches — both teams earned fans and valuable experience.
Tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET, they’ll face each other as part of Leagues Cup competition, featuring 18 of the best MLS teams and all 18 Liga MX sides. Each team will face three teams from the opposite league before the top four teams from each league will compete in a knockout bracket, culminating in a final in Los Angeles on August 31.
The American side is a clear favorite, at -135 on the Moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook. Pachuca, meanwhile, is +295 on the Moneyline, with a draw at +275.
LAFC vs. Pachuca prediction, pick
The Black and Gold sit just sixth in the MLS’ Western Conference this season on 36 points after 22 matches, but thanks to their participation in the Club World Cup, they have two matches in hand, meaning they could climb all the way up to fourth if they win both. Pachuca, meanwhile, has gotten off to a flying start since the Club World Cup, winning all three of their matches by a combined score of 7-2 and sitting atop the Liga MX table. Los Tuzos went 8-4-5 in the 2025 Clasura, finishing seventh in that phase of the league, and they were competitive in each of their CWC matches despite playing in a group that featured Real Madrid, Al-Hilal, and RB Salzburg.
On paper, Pachuca is the stronger team despite losing star defender Bryan González to Guadalajara, with a combined squad market value of 56.85 million Euros on Transfermarkt. Los Tuzos’ strong start to the 2025-26 season has been buoyed by an all-around team effort, as their seven goals have come from six different players and four different players have notched assists. So far, Pachuca’s best player has been Venezuelan international Jhonder Cádiz, a post-CWC arrival from Club León. It also brought in Gastón Togni on loan from Argentina’s Defensa, and 19-year-old midfielder Elias Montiel has looked incredibly sharp, netting against Real Madrid at the Club World Cup and Monterrey in the season opener. Los Tuzos ranked around the middle of the pack last season in both goals scored and conceded but have had the second-best attack and the best defense so far in 2025-26.
But LAFC will have the best player on the pitch, forward Denis Bouanga, who’s tied for the Western Conference lead with 13 goals, ranks in the top septile in all but one attacking category, and has helped lead the Gabonese national team to the verge of its first-ever World Cup qualification. In addition to Bouanga, 21-year-old Salvadoran striker Nathan Ordaz also has eight goal contributions and is among the best passers at his position. Though the aging French duo of Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud hasn’t panned out as hoped — Giroud has only four goal contributions and Lloris has been the league’s eighth-worst goalkeeper this season by post-shot expected goal plus-minus — the Black and Gold have allowed the third-fewest goals in the West.
Although Cádiz and Togni were solid additions and Pachuca has looked excellent in the early stages of the Liga MX season, LAFC’s home-field edge — it’s 8-2-3 so far at BMO Stadium — and solid form (10 points from six post-CWC matches) make me lean slightly towards the MLS team. So far, American teams have performed better than their southerly counterparts at the tournament, as has been the case for the last three seasons. I’ll back the Black and Gold to keep that trend going with a one-goal win.
