It’s been a rough few weeks for Chivas and their fans. The club’s last victory was on July 24th over Club Monterrey, and since then, they have given up 11 goals in a span of five games. Up next for Matias Almeyda and his Herd, is a real barometer reading on just how low the team has gotten as they are set to visit Santos Laguna on Sunday night. Santos comes into the match in worse shape than Chivas, having only amassed two points out of a possible 12 and sitting in 17th place in the standings.
While things have certainly not looked good for El Rebaño the past couple weeks, there is a silver lining. Due to the early exit of the U-23 National Team from the Olympics, Almeyda once again has at his disposal more talent including another forward in Marco Bueno. Bueno didn’t exactly inspire any confidence in his run with the Olympic team, but he does provide another option and some competition for Angel Zaldivar, who has just not been good when it comes to putting away goals. Along with Marco Bueno, Almeyda will also have Carlos Salcedo Jr and Carlos Cisneros returning, both of which had good runs with the Olympic team.
Santos hasn’t had much luck of its own as of late. The team hasn’t won a match since July 2nd when they defeated Pumas in a preseason friendly. In league play, Santos hasn’t been able to win a match dating back to April of this year. There is a bit of solace for Luis Zubeldia’s squad as the next couple games in the schedule are against teams in the bottom half of the table.
With a full roster, earlier than was originally anticipated, Almeyda will have no excuse against a team who is coming into the match in worst shape. Almeyda must field his strongest squad from the onset of the match and look to get a goal early to instill confidence in his team. A victory Sunday could be the turning point in the season, on the other hand, a loss against the second worst team in the league and It is officially time to hit the panic button.
Match date/time: Saturday 7pm EST, 6pm local
Venue: Estadio Corona, Torreon, Mexico
TV: Univision Deportes Network (US- Spanish)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription),