The Leagues Cup has reached its knockout stages. From here on out, there’s no margin for error, with only four of the MLS’ best and four of Liga MX’s best still standing. All four quarterfinal matches will take place tonight, with Inter Miami hosting Tigres at 8 p.m. ET, Orlando City SC facing Toluca at 8:50 p.m. ET, the Seattle Sounders welcoming Puebla at 11 p.m. ET, and LA Galaxy battling Pachuca at 11:45 p.m. ET.
The early game will feature North America’s marquee star: Lionel Messi. The 38-year-old Argentine will be flanked by fellow aging legends Sergio Busquets, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, and Rodrigo De Paul as he seeks to fire his team into the Leagues Cup semifinal for the second time.
Inter Miami is a +120 favorite to win in regular time and -130 to advance at DraftKings Sportsbook. Tigres are +165 to win in regular time and +105 to advance, with +295 odds that the match will require penalties to decide.
Inter Miami CF vs. Tigres UANL prediction, pick
The Herons have made fairly light work of the MLS this season; though they sit just fifth in the Eastern Conference, they’re just seven points off the top and have three games in hand in part because of their Club World Cup participation. No player has been more valuable than Messi; despite appearing in just 19 of the team’s 24 matches, he leads the league with 19 goals and is tied for seventh with eight assists. But Suárez has been no less dominant, assisting 10 times while smashing home six goals himself, and Busquets and Alba have contributed a combined 13 goals + assists. Rocco Ríos Novo is the second-choice keeper but leads the Leagues Cup with 16 saves from 20 opportunities, so Miami is in good shape whether he or Óscar Ustari starts between the sticks tonight, and Telasco Segovia is tied for 12th in the competition with two goals.
However, the Herons shouldn’t underestimate Tigres. The Monterrey-based side sit sixth in the Liga MX table after four matches, scoring a competition-high 13 goals, and finished third in the league phase on six points. Ángel Correa is tied for the competition lead with four goals, scoring a brace in the wins over Houston Dynamo and San Diego FC. He’s far from the only talented player, though: Ozziel Herrera is tied for fourth with three goals in Liga MX, and Diego Lainez ranks second with three assists. Tigres’ only notable weakness is between the sticks: Nahuel Guzmán has made just five saves from 11 opportunities in domestic play and eight saves from 12 attempts in the Leagues Cup.
It’s hard to read too much into Inter Miami’s performance in the league phase of the competition, since Messi only played a total of 101 minutes after suffering a hamstring injury against Nexaca in the second match. However, the Argentine was dominant in that limited playing time, leading the team with two assists and ranking fourth on the team with five key passes made. Assuming he plays tonight — he was stretching out his hamstring during his return against LA Galaxy on Saturday but managed a goal and an assist regardless — he’ll likely be the focal point of the attack, stretching out a UANL defense that has allowed the eighth-most goal-creating actions per 90 minutes in Liga MX this season, even if it’s let in the third-fewest goals.
The Herons’ strong home form — they’re 7-3-2 at Chase Stadium — and their undefeated league phase campaign should give them a slight edge over the Mexican side, which went just 6-5-6 on the road in 2024-25. Despite their advanced ages, the strike partnership of Messi and Suárez is still more effective than the pairing of Correa and Nicolás Ibáñez. I have concerns about Miami’s defense, which has allowed the fifth-most goals in the Eastern Conference, but the attack is more lethal than any that the more defense-oriented Liga MX has to offer.
