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Game: Club Necaxa vs. Club América
Date: Saturday, April 7th
Time: 10:00 PM Eastern, 9:00 PM Central, 7:00 PM Pacific, 3:00 AM UTC
Venue: Estadio Victoria (Aguas Calientes, México)
Television: United States - Univision, Univision Deportes; Televisa Deportes Network
Streaming: Univision Deportes app, Fanatiz, fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription), Sling (Free trial + monthly subscription)
Club América head into this weekend’s match against Necaxa in Auguas Calientes on the heels of one of the more humiliating defeats in club history against Toronto FC in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal.
In an attempt to add a little bit of flair to the semifinal first leg Miguel “El Piojo” Herrera made several inflammatory comments about the quality of his opponents and the MLS as a whole. These comments were widely broadcasted across all of North America. Herrera’s overconfidence in his squad came back to haunt him and he was forced to eat his words after Toronto FC easily dispatched Club América by a score of 3-1.
Las Águilas looked one dimensional for most of the game. It was all too easy for Toronto FC to stifle the visitor’s attack. Defensive deficiencies starting with young Carlos Vargas ended up being the doom of of the Mexican side as Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore easily ran circles around the backline.
Things went from bad to worse for Club América as El Piojo chose to further instigate the embarrassing situation by claiming that Toronto police violently attacked his players during an incident heading back to the dressing-room at halftime.
Necaxa come into the match following their biggest achievement since being promoted back to the Liga MX a little over a year ago. Los Rayos defeated Santos Laguna 2-1 at home to advance to the finals of the Copa MX.
Former Club América manager Nacho Ambríz has quietly helped Necaxa become one of the more formidable opponents in Liga MX this season. His Necaxa squad is currently sitting in 10th place of the table with 16 points with a record of 3-7-3. A victory against Club América would be enough to push los Rayos into a liguilla position.
This matchup should see Club América start a rotated lineup in order to ensure that the squad is well rested for their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal match on Tuesday. As a result, this match is going to be much more difficult for the visitors from Mexico City.
Necaxa should look to capitalize on the fact that Club América won’t be at completely full strength. Nacho Ambríz could look to use this match as a springboard towards the los Rayos most successful season since earning promotion back to Mexico’s top flight of professional fútbol.