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Pumas will try to make history in Copa MX and break a streak of more than 30 years without a victory over Chivas in Guadalajara. Pumas hasn’t beaten Chivas in Guadalajara since 1982 and they will try to break the streak as both teams face off in the Round of 16 of the Copa MX. Pumas will be hoping history repeats itself as they beat Atlas 3-0 in Guadalajara this season, breaking a much shorter streak of not winning there since 2004. Still, it will be a tough battle especially with a Chivas team that will try to start a positive momentum before they face their biggest rival America in this weekend Superclasico.
While coming into the season Chivas was expected to do poorly. Coach Jose Cardozo has made a very competitive side and surpassed the low expectations. More importantly, Chivas has improved at home, where they have already surpassed their win total from last season.
On Sunday, they had a hit to their spirit on when they were held to a 1-1 draw thanks to a penalty kick in the last minute of play, but the news that their rival Club America was eliminated at home yesterday against FC Juarez might be the thing that inspires them as they prepare to face them in Liga MX.
Meanwhile, Pumas’s season has been an enigma. While they currently sit in fourth place, their level of play hasn’t exactly encouraged their fans. They had a crushing tie against their city rivals America even when they were up two players. They bounced back but did so by beating Leon and Lobos BUAP, two teams that have struggled this season. Their away tie against Morelia was a good result but their play wasn’t that inspiring. In Copa MX, there are even more doubts as they lost both games to Necaxa and only went through because of their victories against Ascenso MX team Tampico Madero. Pumas will need to showcase a good performance and nothing might be bigger than with a victory over Chivas in Guadalajara.
Chivas’s winning streak over Pumas is legendary. That one of the more popular teams hasn’t been able to beat them at home for 35 years is a huge feat and Pumas needs to get that monkey off their back. This is the perfect opportunity to do so, but an inspired Chivas will be a tough rival and they might have to wait for their meeting in league play to finally conquer Guadalajara.
Date: Wednesday, September 26
Time: 7:00pm Pacific, 9:00pm Central, 10:00pm Eastern
Venue: Estadio Chivas, Zapopan, Jalisco
TV: Univision Deportes(US-Spanish),TDN (Mexico), UnivisionTDN (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)