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Monterrey and Pachuca will clash in the final event of 2017, when they face off in the Copa MX final. The late final comes at a time where both teams are coming down from tournaments of higher importance. Monterrey is coming from the bigger fall after disappointingly losing the Liga MX final against city rivals Tigres at home, while Pachuca arrive after a third place finish at the Club World Cup. Coincidentally, it will also be a rematch from the 2016 Liga MX Apertura Final that gave Pachuca their last league title with a last minute Victor Guzman goal.
Of both teams, Monterrey is coming into this final with the more negative conditions. While they hoped to go in with a chance to win the double, they instead arrive after a defeat against Tigres in the league final. They will also be playing at home, the same setting where they last played and lost a final. Lastly, they will also face their old nemesis Pachuca, the team the defeated them in their first final at their new home stadium, Estadio BBVA Bancomer.
Pachuca might not be as hyped up for the tournament either but they definitely are in better spirits. After years of having terrible performances in the Club World Cup, they were finally able to tie Monterrey and Necaxa in getting a third place finish in the competition. While many criticized the team for failing to get to the final after facing the CONMEBOL team in the semifinals (when most of the times, the CONCACAF team is placed in the UEFA's team semifinal bracket) the fact of the matter is they gave Gremio, CONMEBOL's representative, a game and only lost 1-0 in extra time. That said, they will be coming back from a long trip from Abu Dhabi and to make matter worse, they will be facing the better team in Monterrey.
The Copa MX final will put and end to a tournament that was a logistical nightmare following the earthquake in Mexico City on September 19. Under normal circumstances, Monterrey should be heavily favored, but given the rare situation of this delayed final, Pachuca have a big chance of getting the win because of the psychological hit of Monterrey’s last game. This is something Pachuca must take advantage of to change the outlook of what before was a disappointing season for Diego Alonso's team. For Monterrey, a Copa MX title might mean very little.
Date: Thursday December 21
Time: 6:50pm Pacific, 8:50pm Central, 9:50pm Eastern
Venue: Estadio BBVA Bancomer, Monterrey, Mexico
TV: Univision Deportes Network(US - Spanish), UnivisionTDN (Mexico), TDN (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)