Alajuelense vs Los Angeles Prediction and Betting Tips
Alajuelense welcome Los Angeles FC to the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto for the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 on Thursday (March 9).
The hosts are coming off a 4-0 home win over Guadalupe in the Costa Rican Primera Division. Johan Venegas scored a first-half brace to inspire his side to victory over their ten-man visitors.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, claimed a narrow 3-2 home win over Portland Timbers in the MLS. Giorgio Chiellini, Carlos Vela and Kwadwo Opoku found the back of the net to put the California outfit three goals up. Evander and Cristhian Paredes scored for the visitors to threaten a grandstand finish, but LA held on for the win.
Alajuelense booked their spot in the tournament by virtue of their runners-up finish in the CONCACAF League.
The second leg of the tie will be played in Los Angeles next week. The winner of the tie will earn the right to face either Vancouver Whitecaps or Real in the quarterfinal.
Alajuelense vs Los Angeles Head-to-Head and Betting Tips
- This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
- Alajuelense have lost just one of 11 league games this season, winning eight.
- Eight of Alajuelense's 11 league games have produced at least three goals, with Los Leones scoring at least two goals on each occasion.
- LAFC are on a four-game winning run across competitions since their MLS Cup triumph last year.
- Alajuelense have won all six games at home in the league this term, scoring at least twice in each win. The games produced an average of 4.3 goals per game.
Alajuelense vs Los Angeles Prediction
Alajuelense's emphatic 4-0 home win in league action over the weekend would have put them in a confident mood ahead of their crucial game against LAFC.
The MLS champions kickstarted their title defence with a narrow win, but their full attacking impetus was on show.
��️ Steve Cherundolo and Ilie Sánchez spoke to the media ahead of our first #SCCL23 match against @ldacr. #LAFC
Friday's game is likely to be an exhilarating one of end-to-end action between two attack-minded teams. However, Alajuelense should claim a narrow win in a high-scoring game.
Prediction: Alajuelense 3-2 Los Angeles FC
Alajuelense vs Los Angeles Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Alajuelense to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals
Bold Tip - Both teams to score over 1.5 goals
