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Tragic events outside of the football pitch have unfortunately become the lead story heading into Saturday's match between Monterrey and Santos Laguna. The two cities, just 200 miles apart in northern Mexico, have both been touched by the shadow of violence during the past week. Last weekend's Santos match was suspended because of gunfire near the stadium, and the entire city of Monterrey continues to mourn after Thursday's attack on a casino left at least 52 people dead.
Monterrey has asked its fans to wear white to Estadio Tecnologico on Saturday as a statement of peace and unity, as well as a sign of hope for positive change in the city. Obviously in the face of a tragedy of these proportions, sports take a back seat (as seen by the call to stop the violence on the front page of Friday's edition of the Record, Mexico's leading daily sports paper). Game results certainly mean much less when looked at against the shock of Thursday's attacks. But what the Rayados can do on Saturday night is take the field and unite their fans around something pure, something peaceful, and something positive -- and in the end, hopefully a win over Santos.
Join us for commentary and discussion in the comments section below during the match. Here is your full preview, television information, and both team's starting lineups:
FMF State of Mind's Monterrey vs. Santos Laguna game preview.
Monterrey lineup: Jonathan Orozco; Jose Maria Basanta, Ricardo Osorio, Hiram Mier, Sergio Perez; Neri Cardozo, Luis Perez, Walter Ayovi, Cesar Delgado; Aldo de Nigris, Humberto Suazo.
Santos Laguna lineup: Oswaldo Sanchez; Carlos Morales, Felipe Baloy, Santiago Hoyos, Jorge Ivan Estrada; Juan Pablo Rodriguez, Daniel Luduena, Rodolfo Salinas, Jose Maria Cardenas; Christian Suarez, Oribe Peralta.
The match kicks off from Estadio Tecnologico at 8pm eastern (7pm local time in Monterrey), with television coverage in the United States on Telemundo.