The entire 2023 Major League Soccer season comes down to one more match as the Columbus Crew host LAFC in this year’s MLS Cup final.
Defending champions LAFC won the title last season at their home ground, but have been forced to play on the road this year, having finished with fewer regular season points than their Eastern Conference foes.
They will face one of the league’s hottest sides, the Columbus Crew, who have lost just three total times in league play since the start of June.
Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga seemed to have slowed as the 2023 season dragged on and LAFC slipped from their mantle atop the Western Conference, but since the start of October he has bagged an incredible 10 goals in his last seven matches. Pair that with the scorching form of Columbus duo Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi, who have 19 combined goals in the 15 matches since former LAFC forward Rossi joined in mid-August.
USA: Click here to see the latest odds for Columbus Crew vs LAFC and bet MLS matches
2023 MLS Cup final prediction, odds
- Moneyline lean: Draw (+230)
- Score prediction: Columbus Crew 2-2 LAFC (LAFC to win on penalties)
These two teams present a delicious MLS Cup final matchup, as both have varying sets of strengths, both across the entire season and when looking at their current form.
LAFC were defensively flawed through much of the year, but have locked it down in the postseason, keeping clean sheets in each of their last three postseason matches. The Crew, meanwhile, have done their business by scoring heaps of goals, including their dramatic comeback win over FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference final where they turned around a 2-0 deficit.
Their varying strengths and weaknesses should cancel out and create a fantastic match full of fireworks for neutrals to enjoy, while fans sit through all the nerves for the 90, or 120, minutes.
| Columbus win (90 mins) |
Draw | LAFC win (90 mins) |
Both teams to score Y / N |
Over / Under 2.5 goals |
COL win the Cup |
LAFC win the Cup |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DraftKings (USA) |
+115 | +230 | +220 | -155 / +125 | -125 / -110 | -155 | +125 |
Columbus Crew vs LAFC match facts
- Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023
- Kickoff Time: 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT
- Location: Lower.com Field (Columbus, OH)
- Official: Armando Villarreal
- Last meeting: Columbus Crew 0-2 LAFC (May 21, 2022 | MLS)
2023 MLS Cup final best bet
While at the European club level and the international scene, major finals are often cagey matches, that’s not been the case recently in Major League Soccer.
Three of the last four MLS Cup finals have hit the over, while each of the last six MLS Cup finals have featured at least two goals.
Additionally, this matchup is between two of the best attacking sides in the league. The Crew have dropped two goals in every playoff game this postseason, including three on FC Cincinnati, while LAFC have scored in every game, including putting up five on Vancouver in their first round matchup and two on an in-form Houston side in the Western Conference finals.
Columbus Crew vs LAFC prop bets
- Pick: Diego Rossi anytime goal scorer
- Odds: +250 (DraftKings)
No midseason addition had a greater effect on the league than Diego Rossi, who joined Columbus in August and exploded back to MLS play. The former LAFC forward bagged three goals and three assists through 10 MLS regular season matches, and then continued his impressive form in the postseason, with two goals and three assists in five playoff games.
The 25-year-old Uruguayan should be itching to face his former club, and as a 90+ minute player, he should have ample chances to find the scoresheet.
- Pick: LAFC to win 1H
- Odds: +275 (DraftKings)
- Pick: Columbus Crew to win 2H
- Odds: +145 (DraftKings)
These two teams have dominated opposite sides of the halftime break through this year’s MLS Cup playoffs. LAFC have been kings of the first half, scoring goals in every single opening 45 minutes of their four playoff games so far, winning all of them.
Meanwhile, the Crew have exploded to life after halftime, not just scoring in four of five second halves this postseason, but bagging multiple goals in three of those. The only second half they did not score in was the 0-0 draw with Orlando City in the Eastern Conference semifinals, when they snagged a pair in extra-time to advance.
Watch these teams go back and forth, which will present a thrilling affair for neutral fans across the country.
2023 MLS Cup final live stream, TV channel
The 2023 MLS Cup final will be shown in the United States on the FOX main network channel, while a Spanish-language broadcast is available on Fox Deportes. Both channels are available to stream on Fubo.
In Canada, the match will be shown on both TSN3 and TSN4, which can be streamed on Fubo Canada. A broadcast in French is also available on RDS 2.