LAFC to face Chivas de Guadalajara in 2026 Leagues Cup opener at BMO Stadium
Los Angeles FC will host C.D. Guadalajara at BMO Stadium on August 5, 2026, in what reports describe as the first-ever meeting between the clubs and the Leagues Cup opener for both.
LAFC will host C.D. Guadalajara (Chivas) at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on August 5, 2026, in the Leagues Cup. Reports describe the fixture as the tournament opener for both clubs and the first-ever meeting between LAFC and Chivas de Guadalajara.
Los Angeles FC will host C.D. Guadalajara at BMO Stadium on August 5, 2026, in what is scheduled to be the club's opening match of the 2026 Leagues Cup. According to preview coverage, the fixture will be the first-ever meeting between LAFC and Chivas, and it is set for a Wednesday night at the soccer-specific stadium in Exposition Park. The match falls in Phase One of the Leagues Cup, the tournament that pairs Major League Soccer clubs against Liga MX opposition. For Los Angeles, the visit carries an echo of the past: Chivas USA, a Greater Los Angeles MLS club run as a subsidiary of the Guadalajara parent club, operated from 2005 to 2014 before folding. BMO Stadium itself opened on April 18, 2018. The fixture has drawn heavy advance coverage, with multiple outlets publishing viewing information and predicted lineups, and ESPN providing live coverage including scores, highlights and statistics. LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos has signalled he intends to field a strong lineup, describing his approach as planning to "go for it," according to reports.
LAFC to host Chivas in Leagues Cup opener at BMO Stadium
Los Angeles FC will open their 2026 Leagues Cup campaign at home, hosting C.D. Guadalajara at BMO Stadium on August 5, 2026. The fixture brings one of Mexico's most decorated clubs to Los Angeles for a cross-border meeting that has drawn advance coverage from multiple outlets, with viewing information, kickoff details and predicted lineups circulating ahead of the game.
The match is scheduled for a Wednesday night, according to reports from outlets including Bolavip and Goal.com. Those same reports describe the fixture as the tournament opener for both clubs — LAFC's first game of the 2026 Leagues Cup and Guadalajara's as well.
Reports also indicate the match will be the first-ever meeting between LAFC and Chivas de Guadalajara, a notable fact given the two clubs' shared geography and history. The fixture falls within Phase One of the Leagues Cup, the portion of the tournament that pairs MLS clubs against Liga MX opposition, according to the reporting.
BMO Stadium, LAFC's soccer-specific home in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, opened on April 18, 2018. ESPN is set to provide live coverage of the match, including live scores, highlights and updated statistics.
Exact kickoff time and broadcast arrangements had not been confirmed in the material available.
How the 2026 Leagues Cup sets MLS against Liga MX
The 2026 Leagues Cup brings together clubs from Major League Soccer and Mexico's Liga MX, and the LAFC–Chivas fixture sits within that cross-border structure. According to reports, the match forms part of Phase One of the tournament, a stage that pairs MLS clubs against Liga MX opposition. LAFC, representing MLS, will therefore open against one of Mexican football's most decorated sides rather than a domestic rival.
Reports also indicate that the August 5 match is the first game of the 2026 tournament for both clubs. For LAFC it serves as the competition opener, and the same is true of Guadalajara. That gives the fixture added weight: neither side will have a result on the board, and both begin their campaigns at the same starting point.
Beyond this meeting, the picture is incomplete. The opponents each club will face in their subsequent Leagues Cup fixtures have not yet been confirmed, and the full shape of each team's path through the tournament remains to be determined. What is established is the format's basic premise: in Phase One, at least as described in preview coverage, the competition sets the two leagues directly against one another, and this match is one instance of that pairing.
The Chivas name returns to Los Angeles
When Chivas de Guadalajara arrive in Los Angeles, they will be returning to a city where their name once had a permanent home. From 2005 to 2014, Chivas USA operated in Greater Los Angeles as an MLS club, functioning as a subsidiary of C.D. Guadalajara. The project was an attempt to transplant one of Mexico's most popular brands into the American league, and for nearly a decade it gave Los Angeles a team carrying the Chivas identity.
That experiment ended in 2014, and the Chivas name disappeared from the city's soccer scene. The void was eventually filled by a new club with no connection to Guadalajara. Los Angeles FC built its identity from scratch and made its home at BMO Stadium, a soccer-specific venue in the Exposition Park neighborhood that opened on April 18, 2018.
The result is a layered backdrop to the fixture. BMO Stadium now belongs to LAFC, but the visiting badge carries a decade of local history. For supporters in Los Angeles who followed Chivas USA, a match against the parent club from Guadalajara reconnects a thread that was cut more than a decade earlier. For LAFC, it is a chance to host, on their own ground, an institution whose American offshoot once shared this market. The setting makes the meeting more than a routine tournament fixture: it brings a familiar name back to a city that once called it its own.
Chivas USA, a Greater Los Angeles MLS club operating as a subsidiary of C.D. Guadalajara, was active.
BMO Stadium, the soccer-specific home of LAFC in Los Angeles' Exposition Park neighborhood, opened.
LAFC is scheduled to host C.D. Guadalajara (Chivas) at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
The match is scheduled for a Wednesday night.
The fixture is the 2026 Leagues Cup opener for both LAFC and Guadalajara.
The match is part of Phase One of the Leagues Cup, which pairs MLS clubs against Liga MX clubs.
The meeting is the first ever between LAFC and Chivas de Guadalajara.
LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos said he plans to field a strong lineup and 'go for it' in the match.
ESPN is providing live coverage of the match, including live score, highlights, and updated statistics.
A first-ever meeting drawing heavy preview coverage
The novelty of the fixture is doing much of the promotional work. According to preview reports published by outlets including Goal, Bolavip and OneFootball, the August 5 match will be the first-ever meeting between LAFC and Chivas de Guadalajara, despite both clubs carrying significant followings in Los Angeles. That claim has not been independently confirmed, but it has shaped coverage across multiple publications in the days around the announcement.
The reported first meeting has generated a wave of preview material. Several outlets published viewing guides detailing kickoff time, television channel and live stream options, while others ran predicted lineups for both sides. ESPN is carrying live coverage of the match, including live score, highlights and updated statistics.
The pairing of an MLS club with one of Mexico's most popular teams, at a venue in the heart of Los Angeles, has given publications a natural angle: two fan bases with deep roots in the same city, meeting for what reports describe as the first time. That framing has kept the fixture in preview columns well before a ball has been kicked.
Dos Santos signals LAFC will 'go for it'
LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos has indicated he does not intend to treat the Leagues Cup fixture as an occasion for rotation. According to preview reporting ahead of the match, Dos Santos said he plans to field a strong lineup against Chivas, describing his approach as planning to "go for it."
The comments, carried by outlets covering the fixture, suggest LAFC will approach its tournament opener with close to full strength rather than resting regular starters. That stance is notable given the demands of a congested schedule, though the briefing available here does not detail how Dos Santos framed the balance between the Leagues Cup and LAFC's other commitments.
Predicted lineups for the match have been published by multiple outlets as part of the preview coverage. However, the specific names in those projections are not confirmed in the reporting available here, and predicted selections frequently differ from the teams that actually take the field. Whether Dos Santos follows through on his stated intention will only be clear once the official lineup is announced before kickoff.
No injuries or suspensions affecting either squad are detailed in the available reporting, so the extent to which selection choices are forced rather than discretionary remains unclear.
Date, venue and how to follow the match
Los Angeles FC and C.D. Guadalajara are scheduled to meet on August 5, 2026, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. The fixture falls on a Wednesday night, according to reports, and serves as the tournament opener for both clubs.
BMO Stadium, the soccer-specific ground in the Exposition Park neighborhood, has been LAFC's home since it opened on April 18, 2018. The venue will stage the first match of the club's 2026 Leagues Cup campaign.
ESPN is providing live coverage of the match, including a live score, highlights and updated statistics throughout the game. Multiple outlets published viewing information ahead of kickoff, setting out the TV channel, live stream options and start time for audiences in the United States and beyond.
The exact kickoff time and the full list of television and streaming carriers were reported by those outlets but are not confirmed in this account. Preview coverage also included predicted lineups for both sides, though the confirmed team sheets will only emerge closer to kickoff.
What remains undecided before kickoff
Plenty about this fixture is settled, but the things that matter most are not. The match has yet to be played, so nothing can be said about a result or what it would mean for either club's position in Phase One of the Leagues Cup. How the outcome shapes each team's standing is simply unknown until the final whistle.
Who comes next is also unresolved. The briefing confirms this is the tournament opener for both LAFC and Guadalajara, but neither club's subsequent opponents in the competition have been confirmed.
What is at stake, though, is clear enough. Both sides open their 2026 Leagues Cup campaigns on the same night, in the same stadium, against each other. For LAFC, it is a home start at BMO Stadium. For Chivas, it is the beginning of their own tournament on the road. Whatever happens on August 5 will set the tone for the rest of each club's Phase One schedule — once that schedule is known.
Frequently asked questions
When is LAFC vs Chivas Guadalajara?
Los Angeles FC is scheduled to host C.D. Guadalajara (Chivas) on August 5, 2026, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. According to reports, the fixture falls on a Wednesday night and serves as the 2026 Leagues Cup opener for both clubs. The exact kickoff time has not been confirmed in available coverage, though multiple outlets published viewing information ahead of the match.
Where is the LAFC vs Guadalajara Leagues Cup match being played?
The match is scheduled to take place at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, the home of LAFC. BMO Stadium is a soccer-specific venue in the city's Exposition Park neighborhood that opened on April 18, 2018. The location adds a layer of history: Chivas USA, an MLS club based in the Greater Los Angeles area that operated from 2005 to 2014, was a subsidiary of C.D. Guadalajara.
Is this the first time LAFC has played Chivas?
According to reports, yes. The August 5, 2026 fixture is described as the first-ever meeting between LAFC and Chivas de Guadalajara. The two clubs have never previously faced each other, despite the Guadalajara name having a Los Angeles connection through Chivas USA, the MLS side that operated as a Chivas subsidiary from 2005 to 2014 before folding.
What is the LAFC vs Chivas match in the Leagues Cup?
The match is part of the 2026 Leagues Cup and, according to reports, falls in Phase One of the tournament, which pairs MLS clubs against Liga MX clubs. It is reportedly the opening Leagues Cup fixture for both LAFC and Guadalajara. LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos reportedly said he intends to field a strong lineup and plans to 'go for it' in the match.
How can I watch LAFC vs Guadalajara?
ESPN is providing live coverage of the match, including a live score, highlights, and updated statistics. Multiple outlets published viewing information ahead of the fixture, including TV channel and live stream options, though the specific channel and streaming services were not detailed in the available briefing. Preview coverage also included predicted lineups for both sides.
Compiled from reporting by 9 independent outlets. How we source our reporting.
