Liguilla match preview: Chivas vs America

The 2020 Guard1anes Liguilla will be starting with the biggest game in Mexican football as America and Chivas face each other in the Quarterfinals. The first leg will be played on Wednesday, November 25 as Chivas hosts America in a game where there is a strong possibility that there will be fans in the stadium, according to the state government. Chivas will hope to get a boost to face an America team that rested the week before and who they will face without their best forwards.

After a topsy-turvy season, Chivas made enough to get to the seventh place and face a Repechaje (one game playoff) against Necaxa. Unfortunately for Guadalajara, their starting forward Jose Juan Macias had a muscle injury that made him miss the last two games of the regular season and the Necaxa match. Even worse news came when their other forward, Alexis Vega, got injured in a U23 Mexican National team scrimmage against Cruz Azul and will be out for four to six weeks. Thus Chivas had a tough hurdle and yet played what many thought was the best game of the season as they dominated Necaxa en route to a 1-0 win. The win looked like a good sign but the fact is that the score looked short for so much dominance and the offense failed to create much danger. Thus the lack of their top forwards hurt the team, and with America being a lot better squad than Necaxa, it’s a worrisome detail. That being said, America has also suffered from injuries and struggles, so although they should be favored, Chivas at home will have their best chance to make something out of the series which could make things interesting for the return leg.

America will be coming in very confident of their chances against Chivas. Already having the better squad, they will love the fact that Chivas will be missing Macias and Vega. Yet America has struggled at times during the season, and they also have key injuries of players they couldn’t replace like their top defender Bruno Valdez. That being said, they will be definitely come with the better team and with a week of rest, they should be prepared for the first leg. Coach Miguel Herrera has historically gotten the upper hand against Chivas, and even did so in their regular season match when they defeated them 1-0 at home in Estadio Azteca. It will still be a tough match with Chivas showing against Necaxa that they are inspired and will be playing better than they did when they faced each other in the regular season.

The Superclasico is the biggest match in Mexican football. After missing out of the game in the suspended Clausura 2020, these two games will make it the fourth match between them in 2020. Chivas had defeated America with a 4-3 win in the Copa GNP, a preseason tournament that was the return to club football in Mexico after the COVID-19 suspension. Then in the regular season, America had the right plan and defeated them 1-0. Chivas’ coach Victor Manuel Vucetich couldn’t get an answer in that match and he wasn’t the Chivas coach in the Copa GNP por Mexico, it was ex coach Luis Fernando Tena. Vucetich will need to step up without his two forwards and needing another performance like they had with Necaxa except with finishing. Otherwise favored America will have an easy ticket to the Semifinals.

Game: Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A. de C.V. vs. Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V.

Date: Wednesday, November 25th

Time: 10:06 p.m. Eastern, 9:06 p.m. Central, 7:06 p.m. Pacific, 3:06 a.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio AKRON (Zapopán, Jal.)

Referees: REF: Jorge Isaac Rojas Castillo, AR1: Christian Kiabek Espinosa Zavala, AR2: Enríque Isaac Bustos Díaz, 4TH: Oscar Macías Romo, VAR: Juan Joel Rangel Maya, AVAR: Marcos Quintero Huitron

Television: United States - Telemundo (Spanish), NBCSN (English); Mexico - TUDN, Azteca 7, Affizionados

Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription), Sling TV (Free trial + monthly subscription), CHIVAS TV, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports App, Telemundo Deportes App