Cruz Azul vs Colorado Rapids Prediction and Betting Tips

Cruz Azul will face Colorado Rapids at the Dignity Health Sports Park on Thursday in the final round of the 2025 Leagues Cup group stages. La Maquina have endured a disappointing Leagues Cup group-stage run and look set to exit the regional stage this week as they sit 14th in the Liga MX table with two points from an obtainable six.

They notably suffered a 7-0 dismantling at the hands of Seattle Sounders in their opening game last week as they shipped all seven goals in the second half. They then played out a 1-1 draw with LA Galaxy last time out, squandering their one-goal lead with less than 10 minutes of normal time left to play before going on to win the ensuing penalty shootout.

Colorado Rapids, meanwhile, opened their Leagues Cup campaign on a high as they beat 10-man Santos Laguna 2-1. However, they found themselves on the wrong end of the results in game two as they lost 2-1 to Tijuana, profiting from a late own goal to get on the scoresheet.

The Pids sit 11th in the MLS table with three points. They must not only win big this week but also need several teams ahead of them in the standings to lose if they are to advance to the quarterfinals.

Cruz Azul vs Colorado Rapids Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

Thursday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.
Cruz Azul have the worst defensive and joint-worst offensive records in the Leagues Cup so far, with eight goals conceded and just one scored.
The Rapids have managed just one clean sheet in their last seven games across all competitions.
Colorado's latest result ended a five-game unbeaten streak against Mexican opposition, which saw them record three normal-time wins and two penalty shootout wins.

Cruz Azul vs Colorado Rapids Prediction

Cruz Azul are slight favorites heading into the midweek clash, although their chances of advancement are next to none, and they will mostly look to put out a convincing performance to make up for an overall difficult regional campaign.

Colorado have lost two of their last three games and have won just two of their last eight. They should, however, have enough to avoid defeat in normal time this week.

Prediction: Cruz Azul 1-1 Colorado Rapids

Cruz Azul vs Colorado Rapids Betting Tips

Tip 1 - Result: Draw

Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals

Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in four of the Pids' last five matches)

About the author

Jedidiah is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda, who has been covering match previews for more than 3 years. Currently pursuing an engineering degree from the University of Ibadan, he conducts thorough research and ensures to be up-to-date with football news across the globe to create the most accurate previews.

A Manchester United fan, Jedidiah fell in love with football and the Red Devils since their UEFA Champions League triumph over Chelsea in 2008. He is a big fan of Robert Lewandowski and his historic performances from 2020, but feels that only Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are capable of replicating the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry. His all-time favorite manager is Carlo Ancelotti due to the Italian's remarkable composure in difficult moments of a contest. Spain's 1-0 win over Netherlands in the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is etched in his memory forever.

A true student of the game, Jedidiah relishes identifying hidden gems from lower-tiered leagues such as the EFL Championship and the Eredivisie. When not creating previews, he likes playing football and reading books.

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