Two sides making their first appearances in the League Cup semi-finals will square off on Wednesday at BMO Stadium as Los Angeles FC host the Colorado Rapids.
The Black and Gold had no trouble advancing from the previous round, defeating the Seattle Sounders 3-0, while the Burgundy Boys stunned Club America, knocking them out 9-8 on penalties.
Match preview
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Throughout the knockout phase of this competition, the Los Angeles attack has stepped it up, outscoring their previous three opponents by a combined margin of 9-1.
Steve Cherundolo's men come into this encounter without a defeat in normal time at BMO Stadium since being clobbered 5-1 by the Columbus Crew in July.
Since suffering a 2-0 defeat at Minnesota United in March, this group have scored in every one of their competitive fixtures.
This team always seem to shine in transitional moments, producing multiple goals off counter-attacks at this tournament with plenty of quality to make those chances count.
Not since a 3-1 defeat versus the San Jose Earthquakes in early May have we seen this side lose in normal time against a team from the Western Conference of Major Leagues Soccer (MLS).
LAFC have not lost a semi-final affair in any competition since the Houston Dynamo beat them on penalties (10-9) at the 2018 US Open Cup.
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The Rapids have been down many times in the 2024 Leagues Cup but never out, coming back to win two matches in this tournament when conceding first.
Chris Armas's side have won two of their encounters at this tournament on penalties, with all of their victories being either in a shootout or by a single goal, including their upset over Club America when that match wound up 0-0 after 90 minutes.
This is the furthest they have gone in a major competition since making the 1999 US Open Cup final, losing to the Rochester Rhinos on that occasion (2-0).
Colorado have yet to win a Leagues Cup contest away from home within 90 minutes, with their victory this past weekend being their first outside Dick's Sporting Goods Park in this competition.
The Burgundy Boys have only beaten one MLS side in their previous four games against them, defeating Real Salt Lake at the Rocky Mountain Cup 3-2 in July.
They have lost all six of their away matches versus Los Angeles FC, losing the last three against them by a combined margin of 10-0.
Team News
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Over the weekend, LAFC were missing Luca Bombino due to a knock, Cristian Olivera sat out versus Seattle with minor pain, Timothy Tillman is injured, Luis Muller is questionable because of a sore hip and Lorenzo Dellavalle will not return this season from a torn ACL.
Olivier Giroud made his second appearance off the substitute's bench on Saturday, replacing Kei Kamara just beyond the hour mark.
Ryan Hollingshead scored the opener after 13 minutes, with Kamara also netting in the first half and Denis Bouanga rounding out the scoring with his fifth of the competition, drawing even with the Philadelphia Union's Tai Baribo for first.
On Saturday the Rapids did not have Kevin Cabral available due to a sore elbow, while Jackson Travis has a stress fracture and Daniel Chacon is out because of a knee injury.
Connor Ronan was among the two newcomers in the starting 11 against America, as he and Omir Fernandez replaced Oliver Larraz and Calvin Harris.
Zack Steffen rescued his team in the quarter-finals, saving the decisive fifth kick by America after Rafael Navarro had previously missed, while the Rapids keeper converted his penalty in the shootout and saw the effort by his counterpart Luis Malagon sail wide.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Murillo, Chanot, Long; Palencia, O'Brien, Sanchez, Hollingshead; Bogusz, Giroud, Bouanga
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Steffen; Rosenberry, Abubakar, Maxso, Vines; Bassett, Larraz; Harris, Mihailovic, Lewis; Navarro
We say: Los Angeles FC 3-1 Colorado Rapids
The Rapids have fought valiantly to get to this stage, but the Black and Gold rarely lose at home and have so many attacking options to call upon that we believe it will all be too much for Colorado to handle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
