Philadelphia Union will face Santos Laguna this Thursday, Aug. 13, at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, in another round of the 2026 Leagues Cup.
Philadelphia are coming off a convincing 3-1 victory over Necaxa last Sunday, but lost 1-0 to Cruz Azul on the first matchday.
Santos, meanwhile, are coming off two consecutive defeats, having lost 2-0 to New York City FC in the first matchday and 3-1 to Chicago Fire in the second.
Here’s everything you need to know before Thursday’s Leagues Cup action. Let’s get into it.
Preview: Philadelphia Union vs. Santos Laguna
Kickoff: 7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT @ Subaru Park, Chester, PA
How to watch live: Streaming on Apple TV
Ryan Richter’s team arrives in better form than their opponents for this final Leagues Cup group-stage match. Although they sit 13th in the MLS Eastern Conference with 16 points after 18 matches played, their performance in the Leagues Cup has been more good than bad.
They lost by a single goal to Cruz Azul, with Jose Paradela scoring in the third minute on the opening matchday, and defeated Necaxa 3-1 in the second matchday with goals from Nathan Harriel in the third minute, Bruno Damiani in the 12th minute, and Cavan Sullivan in the 53rd minute, while the Liga MX side pulled one back in the 79th minute through Matias Esquivel.
Renato Paiva’s team, meanwhile, is once again going through one of their worst moments in recent years.
So far in the Apertura 2026 tournament, Santos have not been able to win a single match. On the first matchday, they lost 3-2 to Monterrey; on the second, they fell 1-0 to Atlas, while on the third matchday they lost 3-0 to Club America.
It has been the same in the Leagues Cup, as we already mentioned: they lost 2-0 in the first matchday to New York City FC, with goals from Tayvon Gray in the 50th minute and Nico Carvallo in the 66th minute.
In the following matchday, they lost 3-1 to Chicago Fire, although they took the lead in the 20th minute with a goal from Ezequiel Bullaude. In the 72nd minute, Philip Zinckernagel equalized, while in the 90th minute, Robin Lod gave Chicago the lead before Robert Lewandowski sealed the match in the 90th minute, with four minutes of added time.
Match prediction: Philadelphia 2-0 Santos
Preview: New York City FC vs. Necaxa
Kickoff: 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT @ Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, NJ
How to watch live: Streaming on Apple TV
Elsewhere, New York City FC will host Necaxa at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.
Pascal Jansen’s team is coming off a 2-1 loss to Cruz Azul, in which only Max Murray was able to score in the 45th minute with one minute of added time. In the 35th minute, Agustin Palavecino put the Liga MX team ahead, while Jose Paradela sealed the result in the 78th minute.
Before that, New York had defeated Santos Laguna 2-0 on the first matchday of the Leagues Cup. Currently, New York City sit fifth in the MLS Eastern Conference with 26 points after 18 matches played.
Necaxa, meanwhile, are also not going through their best moment, although they had a very good start to the Apertura 2026. Martin Varini’s team lost 3-1 to Philadelphia in the latest Leagues Cup matchday and lost 2-0 to Chicago Fire on the first matchday.
However, in the first matchday of Liga MX, they defeated Atlante, coached by legendary Mexican coach Miguel Herrera, 2-1 on July 16. In Matchday 2, they surprisingly defeated Monterrey 2-1, while in the third Liga MX matchday they lost 3-1 to Toluca.
Match prediction: New York City 2-1 Necaxa
Preview: Portland Timbers vs. Club Tijuana
Kickoff: 10:30 pm ET / 7:30 pm PT @ Providence, Portland, OR
How to watch live: Streaming on Apple TV
On the other hand, Portland Timbers will host Club Tijuana at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon. Marti Cifuentes’ team is coming off mixed results, but overall positive ones.
Although they lost 3-1 to America on Sunday, they defeated Puebla 5-2 in the opening matchday of the Leagues Cup. As for MLS, they were also coming off a 2-1 victory over Seattle Sounders on Aug. 1, a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on July 25, a 2-2 draw with Dallas on July 22, and a convincing 5-1 victory over Seattle on July 16.
Portland currently sits eighth in the MLS Western Conference with 24 points after 18 matches played.
Tijuana, meanwhile, have lost both of their Leagues Cup matches so far, falling 2-0 to Austin in the opening matchday on Aug. 6 and losing 1-0 to San Diego FC in the Clasico Fronterizo last Sunday.
Sebastian Abreu’s side, however, is going through a positive moment in the Apertura 2026. They started the tournament by defeating Tigres 3-1, then defeated Leon 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Atletico San Luis in the third matchday.
They currently sit second in the table with seven points after three matches played, the same number of points as Club America, who sit in first place.
Match prediction: Portland Timbers 2-3 Club Tijuana
