Match preview: Santos Laguna vs. UNAM Pumas

Game: Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. vs. Club Universidad Nacional

Date: Wednesday, September 9th

Time: 10:06 p.m. Eastern, 9:06 p.m. Central, 7:06 p.m. Pacific, 2:06 a.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Corona TSM (Torreón, Coah.)

Referees: REF: Jorge Antonio Pérez Durán, AR1: Andres Hernández Delgado, AR2: Jorge Antonio Sánchez Espinoza, 4TH: Jesus Rafael Lopez Valle, VAR: Manuel Ernesto Glower Guerra

Television: United States - FOX Deportes; Mexico - Fox Sports; Belize - Fox Sports; Costa Rica - Fox Sports; Dominican Republic - Fox Sports; El Salvador - Fox Sports; Guatemala - Fox Sports; Honduras - Fox Sports; Nicaragua - Fox Sports; Panama - Fox Sports; Venezuela - Fox Sports

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

All-time record: Pumas holds the all time record, winning 30 to Santos’ 21 with 21 draws across all competitions. Their only meetings outside of Liga MX play was the 2020 Copa MX matches which Santos won 5-4 on aggregate, winning the first leg 4-2 and losing the second 2-1. Their last Liga MX meeting was on February 1 in Torreón, which resulted in a 1-1 draw with Julio Furch converting a penalty for Los Guerreros and Johan Vázquez getting the equalizer for Club Universidad Nacional.

Photo by Omar Martinez Martinez/Getty Images

Santos Laguna (2W 3D 3L) has had an impeccable run of form at home, not having lost a match since March 17, 2019. They’ll face what could be their toughest challenge during that stretch as they welcome Pumas (4W 4D 0L) to Territorio Santos Modelo tomorrow night.

Santos has been playing well at home, with wins against Chivas (), Atlas (), anf Querétaro (). At home they’ve looked confident, thanks in part to the stellar play of goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo and the defense. Acevedo has allowed only one goal past him at home, which is best in the league so far this season. The offense has struggled, but have done enough to get results in three of the last four games.

Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Pumas meanwhile hasn’t lost at all this season. They’ve found a way to get points, but they’ve also left points on the table. They wound up conceding a 1-1 draw to Juárez in Week 3 when Los Bravos had two players sent off before the end of the first half. That said, they’ve won their last two games by a combined score of 7-1, although in fairness both were in the friendly confines of Estadio Olímpico Universitario.

On the road, they’ve beaten Atlas while eking out a 0-0 draw against lowly Mazatlán () and getting a 1-1 draw against Tigres () thanks to a header at the death by Carlos González. González has four goals on the season and Juan Ignacio Dinenno has 6, which has him tied with Jonathan Rodríguez and just two behind André-Pierre Gignac. Not bad company to be in for the 26 year old, who has taken a bit to find his scoring touch in the league.

This should be a good game between two very good teams. Both have a lot to play for, and both have a lot to prove to themselves and the rest of the league.