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Match preview: Santos Laguna vs. Guadalajara

Santos return home after a fairly successful road trip to host Chivas.

By Eugene Rupinski

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Fans of Santos wait outside of the stadium prior to the Final first leg match between Santos Laguna and Cruz Azul as part of the Torneo Guard1anes 2021 Liga MX at Corona Stadium on May 27, 2021 in Torreon, Mexico.
Fans of Santos wait outside of the stadium prior to the Final first leg match between Santos Laguna and Cruz Azul as part of the Torneo Guard1anes 2021 Liga MX at Corona Stadium on May 27, 2021 in Torreon, Mexico.
Photo by Jos Alvarez/Jam Media/Getty Images

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

Date: Sunday, August 15th

Time: 8:06 p.m. Eastern, 7:06 p.m. Central, 5:06 p.m. Pacific, 12:06 a.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Corona TSM (Torreón, Coah.)

Referees: REF: Luis Enrique Santander Aguirre, AR1: Christian Kiabek Espinosa Zavala, AR2: Eduardo Acosta Orea, 4TH: Adonai Escobedo González, VAR: Jorge Isaac Rojas Castillo, AVAR: Fabrice Paul Plancon-jallet

Television: United States - FS1, FOX Deportes Network; Mexico - FOX Sports 2; Belize - FOX Sports 2; Costa Rica - FOX Sports 2; Dominican Republic - FOX Sports 2; El Salvador - FOX Sports 2; Guatemala - FOX Sports 2; Honduras - FOX Sports 2; Nicaragua - FOX Sports 2; Panama - FOX Sports 2; Venezuela - FOX Sports 2

Streaming: fuboTV (Subscription), FOX Sports GO, Vidgo (Subscription)

All-time record: Santos holds the all-time record across all competitions, with 33 wins to Chivas’ 23 while the clubs have drawn 22 times. Strictly in Liga MX play, Santos holds a 28-22 advantage while the clubs have drawn 21. Santos leads 4-1 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, their last meeting ended in a 1-1 draw in Guadalajara on goals from Jesús Angulo and Alberto Ocejo. The last time these teams met in Torreón was back on August 2, 2020 when Santos won 2-0 at TSM thanks to goals from Fernando Gorriarán.

Carlos Acevedo was one of a handful of players that will be fully rested heading into the match against Chivas.
Carlos Acevedo was one of a handful of players that will be fully rested heading into the match against Chivas.
Photo by Jos Alvarez/Jam Media/Getty Images

Santos Laguna (1-2-0) returns home after a grueling road trip to host Chivas de Guadalajara (1-1-1). Santos drew Tigres (1-1-1) in Monterrey on Saturday before heading to Orlando, Florida to face Orlando City SC in the Leagues Cup on Thursday, where they advanced to the semifinal round.

The good news for Santos is that they were able to rotate some players. Carlos Acevedo got the night off, and Alberto Ocejo, Jesús Isijara, and Carlos Orrantia all played less than 15 minutes. The less good news is that players like Matheus Dória, Fernando Gorriarán, Diego Valdés, and Juan Ferney Otero all put in full or almost full shifts in the Florida heat and humidity. Fatigue and conditioning will be a huge factor for Santos for the next few weeks, as they’ll host Atlas (2-1-0) on Wednesday before heading out to León (2-0-1) for a game next Saturday.

Coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich is on the hot seat after a slow start to the season for Chivas.
Coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich is on the hot seat after a slow start to the season for Chivas.

Chivas has no added worries about fatigue, since they’re not part of the Leagues Cup and their last match was on Saturday when they drew FC Juárez (0-1-2) 2-2. As poor as Chivas have looked this season, it’s worth noting that their only win of the season came on the road against Puebla (0-1-2) and while playing in Puebla presents its own challenges, especially with the altitude, Estadio Cuauhtémoc isn’t the imposing fortress that TSM has been for Santos.

Still, Chivas are a professional side and one that didn’t fly to the United States for a midweek game. Santos will most likely need to be at their best, and while that’s very achievable for them it also won’t be easy. Then again, nothing is easy in the desert.

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