Match preview: Club Tijuana vs. Toronto FC

Game: Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente vs. Toronto FC

Date: Wednesday, January 31st

Time: 9:30 p.m. Eastern, 8:30 p.m. Central, 6:30 p.m. Pacific, 2:30 a.m. UTC

Venue: USD Torero Stadium (San Diego, Calif.)

Television: None

What a time we live in. Major League Soccer’s first Canadian Champion Toronto FC will face off against one of the teams at the top of the Mexican Liga MX in a friendly in the United States tonight. Both teams are using it as a bit of a tune-up for the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League, however Toronto FC is playing in their first preseason games while Tijuana is already four games into the Liga MX regular season.

Look for Toronto to give their first team considerable minutes as they tune up for the season ahead. Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, and Michael Bradley will look to regain match fitness while several young draftees will look to gain a permanent roster spots.

Xolos on the other hand will most likely look to give bench options a look. Guys like Alejandro Guido, Hiram Muñoz, and Mateus Gonçalves will most likely get minutes. Luis Michel will most likely also get minutes with Gibran Lajud on national team duty.

While this may not be the match between Liga MX and MLS champions that many fans have been dreaming of, it should still be a fun match to watch for both sets of fans. Tijuana will face Honduran side FC Motagua in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions League while Toronto FC will face fellow MLS side Colorado Rapids.