Match Preview: Club América vs. Veracruz

Game: Club América vs Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz

Date: Saturday, September 9

Time: 9:00 P.M. Eastern, 8:00 P.M. Central, 6:00 P.M. Pacific, 1:00 A.M. UTC

Venue: Estadio Azteca (Mexico City)

Television: United States - Univision, Univision Deportes; Mexico - Canal 5 Televisa, TDN

Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)

Second place Club América play host to eighth place Veracruz in the Estadio Azteca on Saturday night. Las Águilas come into the match after defeating Atlas 2-0 in the Copa MX before the international break. Veracruz, on the other hand, come into the match on the back of a stunning 1-0 victory over Pumas UNAM at home.

Las Águilas head into their first match since the international break embroiled in controversy. This time, the controversy is centered around Coach Miguel Herrera’s ongoing feud with Paraguayan attacker Cecilio Domínguez. Herrera claims that the Paraguayan’s recent performances in games and training sessions have been sub-par and near effortless. Domínguez vehemently denies these allegations and has voiced his frustration with the situation to local media. As a result of the feud, Herrera announced that he has chosen to start young Mexican talent Diego Lainez in place of Domínguez during Friday’s pre-match press conference. Given Lainez’s recent performances in the Copa MX and his immense popularity with fans off las Águilas it should come as no surprise that he was chosen to replace the controversial player in Club América’s starting XI.

The visitors from Veracruz will be looking to build off of their gritty performance against Pumas UNAM in order to distance themselves from Atlas and Puebla at the bottom of the relegation standings. However, los Tiburones have struggled to score goals this season and getting a result at the historic Estadio Azteca is never an easy task for visiting sides. Veracruz will need strong performance from goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and leading goal scorers Cristian Menéndez and Adrián Luna if they hope to stand a chance against the home side.

Expect los Tiburones to use a very similar game plan to that which they employed against Pumas UNAM in their last match. Disciplined defending and quick counter attacking will likely be what awaits Club América on Saturday night. Recently, las Águilas have struggled against teams that apply this type of tactical game plan. This season’s constant rotations in the starting XI have created a lack of understanding between attacking players and the rest of the squad making it difficult to break down and defend against disciplined counter attacking sides. Expect a cagey match with very few scoring opportunities.

If las Águilas manage to break down a disciplined Veracruz side and win the match they could shorten the gab between themselves and the the first place Rayados de Monterrey to a single point. If Veracruz manage to sneak out of the Estadio Azteca with three points they could jump to as high as third place in the table depending on the results of other matches this weekend.