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We have the schedule for each matchup including the CONCACAF Champions Cup betting odds, as well as thoughts on the first legs of the last-16 ties and some insights about who might win the cup at the end of these playoffs.
The team asked their last-16 opponent, MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps, to swap home and away dates, but Vancouver demurred, and now the game will be played at Estadio Corona in Torreon, where Liga MX club Santos Laguna plays home matches.
It will be interesting to see if inflexibility on Vancouver’s part leads to extra tension in the tie – and if the Rayados can use this to get past Vancouver and into the quarterfinals.
CONCACAF Champions Cup Betting Round of 16, Leg 1 Schedule with Top Picks
FC Cincinnati (+141) vs Tigres UANL (+188) (Draw +236)
When: Tuesday, March 4, 6:30 pm ET
Champions Cup Pick: FC Cincinnati to win
FC Cincinnati are back in the Round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup for a second straight year. They beat FC Motagua 5-2 in the opening round on aggregate. Last year, Monterrey sent Cincinnati home, but Cincinnati would like to see a different ending this time around. The team do not have much time to bounce back from a 4-1 loss at the Philadelphia Union in MLS play on Saturday. This is their first matchup with Tigers, but in six prior matches against Liga MX teams, Cincinnati have a 3-2-1 record all time against a side from the league south of the border. On Tuesdays, though, they have a 2-0-3 record all time since 2019.
Tigres came back from a 1-0 loss to Nicaraguan club Real Esteli in the first leg of the opening round to win 3-1 on aggregate. However, they head to Cincinnati with a bit of chaos as they just dismissed head coach Veljko Paunovic and replaced him with defensive midfielder Guideo Pizarro, who has retired from play to take the head coaching job. Over 11 seasons, Pizarro has made 388 appearances for Tigres as well as four appearances with Argentina’s senior national team. He has never coached at any level, and he played all 90 minutes on Saturday in a 2-1 win over Necaxa.
Juan Brunetta is the top scorer for Tigres in the Clausura with five goals. Goalie Nahuel Guzman took a red card in the 89th minute of that 2-1 win. That card won’t bring him a suspension in this tournament, but the new coach could also pick Fernando Tapia to start in net. Either way, I like Cincinnati to take advantage of the uncertainty.
^Pumas UNAM (-228) vs L.D. Alajuelense (+650) (Draw +330)
When: Tuesday, March 4, 8:30 pm ET
Champions Cup: Take the draw
This is the first meeting all-time between these clubs. Pumas lost at Cavalry FC, a Canadian club, 2-1, in the first leg of their opening-round tie, but they won 2-0 at home to advance. They are back in the CONCACAF Champions Cup for the first time since 2022, when they rolled to the quarterfinals. In their domestic league, they have a four-match losing streak with a -6 goal differential over that time. They are in 12th in their table going into Matchday 11.
Alajuelense had a bye through the first round because they won the 2024 Central American Cup. They were knocked out of the last CONCACAF Champions Cup in the round of 16 by the New England Revolution. They are third in the Costa Rica Liga Clausura, just three points out of first. Likewise, they have a 12-match unbeaten streak across all competitions and a five-match unbeaten streak away from home. Obviously, there is some disparity between the two domestic leagues here, but Pumas’ recent run of play makes Alajuelense look very interesting.
^CONCACAF Champions Cup Betting provided by Xbet
CD Guadalajara (+120) vs Club America (+230) (Draw +230)
When: Wednesday, March 5, 8:30 pm ET
Champions Cup: Club America to win
Guadalajara have won three times in their last five matches, including a 1-0 win at Pumas UNAM on Saturday. The match looked like it would end in a scoreless draw until Luis Gabriel Rey Mejia found the back of the net in injury time. The visitors had possessed for 62% of the game and outshot the hosts, 9-7 (but only had three shots on target, to five for the hosts). They also forced 12 corners, to just seven for the hosts, and they ended up making that pressure pay off.
Club America have also won three of their last five, including their last two – a win at Club Universidad last weekend and then a 3-0 shellacking of Toluca at home on Saturday. In that game, Alvaro Fidalgo opened the scoring in the sixth minute, and then Alejandro Zendejas doubled the lead just six minutes after the intermission. Cristian Borja added some extra insurance in injury time at the end of the second half. Club America were able to prevail despite controversial penalty decisions and Toluca fielding an ineligible lineup (eight foreign players instead of the maximum seven) for 10 minutes in the second half.
^Herediano (+161) vs L.A. Galaxy (+170) (Draw +226)
When: Wednesday, March 5, 8:30 pm ET
Champions Cup: Stay away for now
These two sides have only met once, in March 2013, and L.A. Galaxy rolled to a 4-1 victory in that matchup. Odds have yet to be set for this match between one of the top MLS teams and a side in the Costa Rican first division. Herediano did take down an MLS team in the last round, prevailing over Real Salt Lake, 2-1, on the road, to prevail on aggregate, 2-1, in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The Galaxy actually have a three-match losing streak going, including the first two games of the MLS regular season. Until some odds come up for this game, I don’t have a solid betting pick for you, but it’s likely that the line will favor the Galaxy so heavily as to render the value moot. The fact that the game is in Costa Rica makes the situation even less predictable.
^Seattle Sounders (+149) vs Cruz Azul (+170) (Draw +248)
When: Wednesday, March 5, 10:30 pm ET
Champions Cup: Cruz Azul to win
The Sounders are floundering a bit in the first two weeks of the young MLS season, with a 2-0 loss at Real Salt Lake and a 2-2 home draw against Charlotte. Jordan Morris gave the Sounders not one, but two one-goal leads in that match, scoring in the 19th and the 49th minutes. However, Adilson Malanda brought Charlotte level in the 35th minute, and then Charlotte benefited from a ghastly own goal in extra time at the end of the second half to come out of Seattle with a most unlikely point.
Cruz Azul, in contrast, sits in sixth place in the Liga MX 2025 Clausura, eight points out of first. They have three wins, a draw and a loss in their last five; their last match was a 1-1 draw with Mazatlan. The first half of that match was scoreless, and then Mateusz Bogusz gave Cruz Azul a short-lived lead in the 62nd minute. Nicolas Benedetti equalized for the hosts, slotting home a shot from the spot in the 86th minute. Cruz Azul outshot the hosts, 14-7 (but were even on shots on frame, 3-3). They possessed for 58% of the match, which was a physical one, featuring a combined 39 fouls and six yellow cards. Cruz Azul is suffering a bit on the odds here because of the long trip, but the Sounders do not look like a solid team yet.
^Who Will Win the CONCACAF Champions Cup?
Liga MX clubs have dominated this competition historically. Some of it has had to do with the talent gap between their teams and the rest of the region.
While MLS has caught up in that area a bit, Liga MX is 10 weeks into its spring Clausura season, while MLS is just two games into their 2025 campaign.
So Liga MX sides have a bit more cohesion, while MLS sides are still just figuring things out. Also, some of the top MLS teams this year, such as Cincinnati, Columbus, the L.A. Galaxy, and Seattle, are really struggling out of the gate. I like Cruz Azul or Club America to come out on top when the bracket winds down.
^It's Round of 16, Leg 1️⃣ week!
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) March 3, 2025
The Champions Cup action heats up! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/iYRK59NNBV
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