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Chivas has a chance to leapfrog its rival via a direct clash against Santos Laguna this Sunday afternoon at the Estadio Chivas.
While still early on in the 2017 Clausura, Chivas sit at sixth on the table while Santos are currently at third with two points separating the two teams. Both sides are coming off wins: Chivas had a 1-0 successful visit against Queretaro as Santos beat Puebla 2-0.
Chivas’ last home defense was against Tijuana in the third match date of the 2017 Clausura. With that encounter ending in a 1-0 Xolos victory, Matías Almeyda and company will have to execute better early on when their intensity is at its peak or look for a way to prolong their prolific attacking form throughout matches.
Santos Laguna has been steady on the road: they held their own in a scoreless draw against 2016 Apertura champions Tigres to open the 2017 Clausura and drew 1-1 at Morelia in the their last match date on the road. They’ve been finding ways to avoid defeat with scoring coming from the most unlikely of places: defender Néstor Araujo currently leads the team in scoring with two tallies.
It will be interesting to see how Matías Almeyda will tactically combat someone as familiar with El Rebaño as “Chepo” de la Torre. De la Torre managed Chivas in two stints, 2005-2007 and 2014-2015, while starting his playing career at the youth level and earning over 100 appearances with them at the senior level.
The last time these two sides met was in the 2016 Apertura where Ángel Zaldívar gave Chivas victory with a 17th minute goal. Both Santos defender Néstor Araújo and then-Santos goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín saw red in that match, leaving them with nine men by the time the final whistle sounded.
This fifth match date encounter is set to take place at the Estadio Chivas on Sunday at 4 p.m. central time.
Date: Sunday, February 5
Time: 2:00 PM Pacific, 4:00 PM Central, 5:00 PM Eastern
Venue: Estadio Chivas
Television: United States - UniMas, Univision Deportes Network ; Mexico- Claro Sports
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription), ChivasTV (Mexico)