By Justin Ruderman
Leagues Cup 2025 continues with a matchup of mid-table teams that tend to be very entertaining, as both have an offensive focus and prioritize their attack over defense.
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
- 3rd matchup all-time
- Last met in 2019 Leagues Cup quarterfinals (Galaxy advanced on penalties)
- Record at Leagues Cup: Galaxy (2-3), Tijuana (0-4)
LAST FIVE GAMES:
- LA Galaxy:
- 2 Wins, 2 Draws, 1 Loss
- Best five-game stretch of the season for LA
- Tijuana:
- 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss
- 1-1-1 record through 3 games in the Apertura 2025
MAIN STORYLINES:
- Last season, LA Galaxy were crowned MLS Cup champions. This season, they’re at the bottom of the Western Conference table.
- Tijuana are in their first season under new head coach Sebastián Abreu, who took over his first Liga MX job from experienced Colombian manager Juan Carlos Osorio in April.
- 16-year-old Mexican starlet Gilberto Mora recently became the youngest goalscorer in MLS All-Star Game history shortly after becoming the youngest player in football history to lift an international trophy in Mexico’s Concacaf Gold Cup triumph. What will this talented teenager do next?
- After transferring top scorer José Raúl Zúñiga to Club América this summer, Xolos has scored one goal in each of their first three Apertura matches this season. Where will the goals come from in Leagues Cup?
- In 2014, Xolos knocked Galaxy out of the Concacaf Champions League. In 2019, LA sent Tijuana packing from Leagues Cup. What will we get in 2025?
KEY FACTORS:
- LA Galaxy:
- Marco Reus has finally hit his stride in LA with 11 goal contributions in his last 11 matches. Galaxy’s success will hinge on the German’s ability to maintain his form and break down Xolos.
- 21-year-old Matheus Nascimiento has recorded six goal contributions in his last eight matches. Can the on-loan striker use Leagues Cup as his breakout moment?
- Tijuana:
- Ecuadorian winger Adonis Preciado was Tijuana’s marquee summer signing ahead of the Apertura season. Leagues Cup would be an ideal time to nab his first goal contribution for the club.
- No. 10 Kevin Castaneda had the best season of his career last year, including a goal in Leagues Cup. He will be influential in any Xolos success.
WHAT TO EXPECT?
Win, lose, draw. That is how the last three games have gone for both sides of this border rivalry.
For Xolos, they represent the first matches of the Apertura season under a new manager, with players adapting to the system. For Galaxy, they conclude the best five-game run of the year, in which the G’s acquired half of their season point total.
The 2025 campaign has not been a smooth one in LA as the reigning MLS Cup champions suffered mightily without star playmaker Riqui Puig on the pitch as he recovers from a torn ACL in last season’s Western Conference Final (the Spaniard is miraculously on Galaxy’s Leagues Cup roster, but don’t expect to see him on the team sheet just yet). Galaxy went from scoring the most goals in the West last season (69 goals) to conceding the most in the conference this campaign (48 goals).
Despite the mounting pressure on Vanney, the Galaxy extended their manager’s contract through the 2028 season a couple of months ago, entrusting him to turn the ship around. Seemingly, he’s starting to do just that with Leagues Cup providing an ideal opportunity to prove it.
On the other side, it is an even bigger moment for Sebastián Abreu, who is taking charge of just the fourth game in the biggest appointment of his career on Thursday night at Dignity Health Sports Park.
This fascinating managerial clash will likely play out as most Galaxy games do, with LA holding the majority of possession and their opponents taking advantage of space on the counterattack. If that’s the case, it could play right into Xolos’ hands, or perhaps, Reus will conjure some creative magic to slice open the visitors. Either way, you’ll have to tune in on Thursday night to find out.
