The Estadio Azteca will play host to another edition of the Clásico Capitalino as Club America take on Pumas UNAM on Saturday.
For more than one reason, this is the game to watch in Liga MX this weekend. Forget the fact that this is the game between the two most successful teams of Mexico City in the past 20 years, there is plenty of story lines on this one.
First and foremost, this will be Ricardo La Volpe’s first game in charge of Las Aguilas since taking over the team earlier in the week. La Volpe is the kind of manager that likes to stick a certain set of underlying principles, and the big question will be will if his influence will show in a short amount of time.
Of course, for Club America there is a lot more on the line, and La Volpe will know a team with such a responsibility like America’s requires immediate results. While the team is currently seventh in the league table, it’s been a hectic Centenary year to say the least. After a 3-0 thumping to Chivas in the Clasico Nacional, Las Aguilas can’t afford another slip-up at the Azteca.
The good news for Las Aguilas is Pumas UNAM have not won away from home this season. The bad news is Pumas UNAM have had plenty of success at the Azteca in recent years. The Universitarios have lost just once in their last five visits to the Azteca, and as ever, the Pumas crowd will show up in numbers to the stadium.
Pumas UNAM are currently fourth in the league table, and new manager Francisco Palencia has certainly made an impression in his first few games in charge of the Universitarios. As a player, Palencia had a decent goalscoring record against Las Aguilas, and now as a coach, he will look to spoil the house party against Pumas’ most hated rival.
Match date/time: Saturday 10pm EST, 9pm local
Venue: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
TV: Univision (US - Spanish), Univision Deportes Network (US - Spanish), TDN (Mexico), Canal de las Estrellas (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)