Your Wednesday Kickoff: Which MLS clubs will be crowned champions tonight?

What you need to know

Happy Championship Wednesday

Three trophies are on the line tonight. Campeones Cup kicks off tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET as Columbus hosts Club América. After that, it’s the Canadian Championship between Vancouver and Toronto at 10 p.m. ET. Then you can end the night with LAFC and Sporting KC in the U.S. Open Cup Final at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Championship Wednesday is here

Three teams are going to walk away with trophies tonight. At this point, there isn’t much analysis to offer. One team is either going to outplay the other team and take home some silverware or outplay the other team and get unlucky. We can take our best guesses, but in the end, this is a single game of soccer. It’s all up to a higher, soccer-based power. That’s not going to stop us from pointing out who the favorites are tonight though.

Campeones Cup | Columbus Crew vs. Club América | 7:30 pm ET | Apple TV - MLS Season Pass, TUDN

It never feels like a great idea to come out and bet against Club América. We’re talking about the biggest and most decorated club on the continent. We’re talking about the team that won both the Apertura and Clausura in Liga MX last year. We’re talking about a team that routinely outspends everyone else in the region.

And yet…

The Crew are favorites tonight. First and foremost, they’re at home. It’s always safe to lean toward the team that didn’t have to hop on a long flight. Second, the Crew are simply in better form. Columbus made it to this year’s Champions Cup final. Columbus won this year’s Leagues Cup. Columbus are near the top of the table and trending upward in league play. América have none of that right now.

In fact, this edition of Club América is struggling. Somehow, they’ve ended up 10th in Liga MX nine games into the Apertura. They’re nine points behind first-place Cruz Azul. They’ve won just two of their last five in Liga MX. By América’s standards, things are kind of a total disaster right now.

They’re still América though. A brief downturn doesn’t mean they’re lacking the talent to take on MLS’ best side and come out on top. The Crew will have to be at their best.

Is that even really a concern though? We know this team by now. They show up in big games…as long as they’ve stayed [ahem] “healthy” the night before. Pachuca game aside, they’re always up for the challenge. I wouldn’t expect anything different tonight. And I won’t be surprised if they lift yet another trophy they can throw on the pile with the rest.

Canadian Championship | Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Toronto FC | 10 pm ET

The Whitecaps have the edge here. Again, we have to factor in travel, but we also have to factor in the fact that Vancouver have simply been the better team all year. They have a stronger roster from top to bottom.

That even includes the DP spots. Vancouver’s Brian White and Ryan Gauld have combined for 23 goals and 17 assists this year. Toronto’s Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne have nine goals and nine assists on the season. Combined, they’re six goal contributions behind Gauld alone.

It’s more than White and Gauld now though. Toronto will have to deal with new Whitecaps DP Stuart Armstrong too. He hasn’t made his first start yet, but he does have a goal in 36 minutes of play and has looked the part in brief cameos. On paper, that should tilt the scales even further toward the Whitecaps. It’s extremely weird to be heading into a big game talking about how the Whitecaps are going to out-talent someone in a big game, but that’s where we’re at with both teams.

That being said, Toronto have found ways to get the job done when you least expect it this year. They lose. A lot. But they win a shocking amount too. The Reds have more wins than all but four teams in the East this year. They’re also tied for the most losses in the conference. It’s been an all-or-nothing kind of year for Toronto. If the “all” version comes out tonight, they have a chance.

U.S. Open Cup Final | LAFC vs. Sporting Kansas City | 10:30 pm ET | Apple TV - Free

Can I be blunt? Losing this game would be catastrophic for LAFC. There’s no way around it. They are heavy, heavy, heavy favorites. There is an 18-point gap in the standings between these two for a reason.

But LAFC have developed a rep for coming up short in finals for a reason. Last year, they came up short in the Concacaf Champions Cup Final and MLS Cup. This year, they weren’t up to the task in the Leagues Cup Final. It’s been a long string of missed opportunities since Gareth Bale connected on that header to win MLS Cup in 2022.

On top of that, they’ve been awful since Leagues Cup. They’re winless in their last five, including losses to Houston, LA and FC Dallas. At the very least, Sporting KC are catching this group at the ideal time. Maybe that means something in the end. Or maybe this goes exactly as expected. I’d personally lean towards the latter.

Other things

Minnesota United sign Boxall to contract extension: Minnesota United FC have signed center back Michael Boxall to a contract extension through 2025 with an option for 2026. Boxall, a New Zealand international, has made 234 all-competition appearances for Minnesota across eight seasons, recording 7g/1a during that span. The 36-year-old captain anchors the Loons' backline alongside Miguel Tapias and Jefferson Díaz.

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