2019 Apertura match preview: Santos Laguna vs. Guadalajara

Game: Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. vs. Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A de C.V

Date: Sunday, July 21st

Time: 7:45 p.m. Eastern, 6:45 p.m. Central, 4:45 p.m. Pacific, 11:45 p.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Corona TSM (Torreón, Coah.)

Referees: REF: Jorge Isaac Rojas Castillo, AR1: Jimmy Acosta Montesinos, AR2: Enrique Martìnez Sandoval, 4TH: Victor Alfonso Caceres Hernandez

Television: United States - FOX Deportes Network; Mexico - Fox Sports 2 Cono Norte

Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription), Sling TV (Free trial + monthly subscription), FOX Sports GO

All-time record: Santos holds the all-time record across all competitions, with 29 wins to Chivas’ 23 while the clubs have drawn 21 times. Strictly in Liga MX play, Santos holds a 26-22 advantage while the clubs have drawn 20. Santos leads 2-1 in Copa MX play, and in the old Interliga Santos won one in 2004 and the sides drew one back in 2005. In more recent history, the last time these teams met was in Week 4 of the 2019 Clausura when Santos defeated Chivas 1-0 in Torreón.

Photo by Armando Marin/Jam Media/Getty Images

Santos Laguna starts their season at home, looking to rebound after a disappointing season that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 Apertura. Chivas on the other hand looks to avoid relegation for the first time in their long history, as they currently sit at the bottom of the Tabla de Cociente.

Santos saw a few key players head out, mostly to fellow Grupo Orlegi mates Atlas. Hugo Nervo, Jesús Angulo, Javier Correa, and Mauricio Cuero were all loaned to Atlas, while the club brought in Félix Torres from Ecuador’s Barcelona SC, Eryc Castillo from Tijuana, and a pair of Uruguayans in Fernando Gorriarán from Hungary’s Ferencvárosi and Octavio Rivero from Uruguayan giants Nacional. It will be interesting to see how these players bond with the strong nucleus of player that remain at the club, with the likes of Jonathan Orozco, Gerardo Arteaga, José Abella, and Julio Furch providing quality from back to front.

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/International Champions Cup/Getty Images

Chivas on the other hand are hoping that Oribe Peralta can continue to produce at the same rate he did while with Club América. The 35 year old striker has thus far been able to keep ahead of Father Time, but without the supporting cast he had with Las Águilas it may expose some of his weaknesses. Joining Peralta this season is goalkeeper Antonio Rodríguez, Antonio Briseña, and Oswaldo Alanís while the only big departures to speak of were Jair Pereira and Jesús Godínez.

This is going to be a historic season for many reasons,and if Chivas’ gambles on Peralta and Alanís come up craps it could truly change Mexican soccer. Santos on the other hand can get back to making the history they’ve been able to make over the past few seasons if everything falls into place.