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In a matter of minutes, the much-anticipated second leg of the Copa Libertadores Round of 16 tie between Santos and América will kick off in Querétaro's Estadio La Corregidora. For those unfamiliar with the situation so far, Santos carries a 1-0 aggregate lead from the first leg in Brazil thanks to a strike from Paulo Henrique Ganso. Now, outside the confines of the legendary Estadio Azteca (which is being used for a series of U2 concerts this week), América will seek to overturn the first leg deficit and progress to the quarterfinals, where the winner will likely face Brazilian side Cruzeiro, unless Colombian outfit Once Caldas can spring a shocker on the tournament's best team so far.
Both teams are dealing with missing players, with Santos missing influential midfielder Elano after he picked up an injury in Santos' 2-0 victory over São Paulo FC in the Paulista championship semifinals. América will be without the service of Miguel Layún, suspended after picking up a red card in the first leg of the tie. Santos will likely field a more cautious formation, with three defensive midfielders (Adriano for Elano being the only replacement from the first leg), while América will have to start strong to have a chance at going through, but carry significant momentum from their 2-0 victory at league-leading Pumas to secure their place in the Mexican Liguilla.
The game can be caught at 9:45PM EDT on Fox Deportes.
América lineup (4-4-2): Ochoa; Rojas, Valenzuela, Mosquera, Cervantes; Reyna, Montenegro, Rosinei, Reyes; López, Vuoso
Santos lineup (4-3-1-2): Rafael; Jonathan, Edu Dracena, Durval, Léo; Adriano, Arouca, Danilo; Ganso; Neymar, Zé Eduardo