Sporting Kansas City vs. Chivas Guadalajara
Leagues Cup 2023 | Group Stage
Monday, July 31 | 9 p.m. CT
Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Broadcast Schedule:
Apple TV | Free on MLS Season Pass
Linear TV | FS1, UniMas and TUDN
English Radio | Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio | La Grande 1340 AM
By the Numbers | 5 Things | Tune In on Apple TV, FS1 or TUDN | Pub Partners | Game Notes | SKC App | MatchCenter | @SKCMatchday
Sporting Kansas City will host 12-time Liga MX champions Chivas Guadalajara at 9 p.m. CT tonight at Children's Mercy Park in the Leagues Cup 2023 group stage finale. The winner will advance to the Round of 32 as the runner-up in Group 3 of the Central Region, while the third-place finisher will be eliminated from the competition
Tickets for the match are available on SeatGeek and fans can begin accessing their seats at 7 p.m. CT with the Budweiser Brew House opening at 6:30 p.m. CT for KC Cauldron members and Supporters' Stand ticket holders. SportingStyle will be selling Leagues Cup merchandise, as well as retail items for both clubs, and the Mazuma Plaza on the west side of the stadium will feature a food truck, a live band and a KC2026 soccer goal for photo opportunities.
The international clash will be free to watch on Apple TV in English and Spanish in addition to nationally-televised broadcasts on FS1, UniMas and TUDN. Local radio coverage will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM with streams in the Sporting KC app. All of the action will also be shown by pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network , including an enhanced watch party at No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power & Light District featuring photo opportunities with the Leagues Cup trophy from 7:30-9 p.m CT and Leagues Cup jersey giveaways.
Leagues Cup 2023 features all 47 clubs from MLS (29 teams) and LIGA MX (18 teams) in a World Cup-style tournament with the top three teams qualifying for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. Every team plays two matches in the Group Stage with the top two teams from each group advancing to the single-elimination Knockout Stage. Notably, no Leagues Cup matches in the Group Stage will end in a tie. Instead, matches tied after 90 minutes will proceed to a penalty shootout and the winner will earn an extra point in the group standings.
CENTRAL REGION GROUP 3 STANDINGS
1. FC Cincinnati (1-0-1) 5 points
2. Sporting Kansas City (0-0-1) 1 point
3. Chivas Guadalajara (0-1-0) 0 points
MLS Supporters' Shield leaders FC Cincinnati have secured the top spot in the group after prevailing in penalties against Sporting Kansas City on July 23 and defeating Chivas Guadalajara by a 3-1 scoreline last week. Sporting scored twice in the opening 12 minutes in Cincinnati to take a stunning 2-0 lead before a red card to Alan Pulido in the 30th minute provided a lifeline for the hosts, who rallied to level the match at 2-2 then eventually equalized once more in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time after SKC struck for a third goal while down a man.
The match was disrupted by a 30-minute weather delay which would pale in comparison to the weather delay FC Cincinnati and Chivas Guadalajara endured four days later at TQL Stadium when conditions forced the match to be abandoned at the hour-mark and completed the following afternoon. FC Cincinnati secured all three points with three goals from Brandon Vazquez, aided once again by a man advantage after Chivas Guadalajara defender Gilberto Sepulveda was sent off in first half stoppage time.
Pulido and Sepulveda - former teammates at Chivas Guadalajara in 2019 - will both serve suspensions tonight as their sides meet for the first time in a competitive match. Sporting Kansas City and Chivas Guadalajara previously played to a 2-2 draw at Children's Mercy Park in October 2011 in an international friendly and a 1-1 draw during the 2009 MLS preseason in Mexico.
Chivas Guadalajara, who reached the Clausura final in May and currently sit in first place in Mexico with a perfect 3-0-0 start to the Apertura season, were crowned continental champions in 2018 as the Concacaf Champions League winners. The team's roster is highlighted by wingers Roberto Alvarado and Alexis Vega, who both represented Mexico at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The side is led by head coach Veljko Paunovic, who managed Chicago Fire FC from 2016-19, and club captain Victor Guzman, who scored a team-best seven goals during the 2022-23 Liga MX season. Chivas Guadalajara have lost four straight matches against MLS opponents and are 0-4-1 in their last five matches against MLS opponents on American soil since 2018.
Tonight's winner will earn a berth in the Leagues Cup 2023 Round of 32, to be played from Aug. 2-4, and will face the top team in Group 4 of the Central Region, which will be decided when the Colorado Rapids host Deportivo Toluca FC at 8:30 p.m. CT tonight. Toluca can finish in first place in their group with a draw or win tonight while the Colorado Rapids or Nashville SC can finish first based on tiebreakers if the Rapids win in regulation.
