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They say good things come in twos. On Sunday, Club America and Chivas meet for the second time in a week with plenty still to play for at the Estadio Azteca.
A 0-0 draw in the first leg saw Chivas and America give way to more aggression than futbol, with both teams suffering costly suspensions in the process. Club America will be without captain and star player Rubens Sambueza, while Chivas will have to do with the absences of Angel Zaldivar and coach Matias Almeyda.
How the teams adjust to these suspensions may well be the key to this quarterfinal, but in a game that assumes colossal proportions, the mindset of the teams will also be important.
For Chivas, the confidence in their game of the past few weeks looked to have disappeared on Thursday. In a game where they need to score to have any chance of progressing to the semifinals, their lack of composure will need to be replaced by the fearlessness that characterized their team down the stretch.
Club America, on the other hand, will need to be disciplined. Red cards have been Las Aguilas' biggest enemy in the past, and the players will need to have the presence of mind not to get into incidents that could jeopardize their team's chances.
For all the anxious uncertainty, one thing is very clear, we can expect excitement. This is the biggest game in Mexico, and the very act of beating your biggest rival is remembered for weeks. To eliminate them in a Liguilla? It will be remembered for decades.
Match date/time: Sunday 7pm EST, 6pm local
Venue: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
TV: Univision and Univision Deportes Network
Streaming: Univision Deportes En Vivo and fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)