Match Preview: Monterrey vs Chivas

Monterrey hopes to continue their positive play and will face the ideal candidate when they receive a struggling Chivas on Saturday. Chivas has had a lot of luck in playing in Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA before, but it will be tough this time after coming in from a 3-0 loss at home against Leon and with fans protesting the continuity of Chivas coach Victor Manuel Vucetich. Monterrey meanwhile is on the rise under Coach Javier Aguirre and will be primed to end Chivas’ run of results in their newer stadium.

Javier Aguirre’s time in Monterrey hasn’t lived up to expectations. Monterrey ended up playing well but not great last season when they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by lower rated Santos, with a last minute game tying goal in Estadio BBVA. This season was expected for them to get back and although their start wasn’t the best (a last minute tie at home against Puebla), they have improved and have been getting better results. Their last home game was a solid 3-1 win against Pachuca, and then mid-week they got a last minute tie against reigning champions Cruz Azul. Yet they face a very important match at home against Chivas. Chivas is a team that has historically had success in Estadio BBVA, but will be coming in with a lot of criticism after another terrible start to a season. Thus Aguirre will need to get a result or the criticisms will start once again. Monterrey will be heavily favored against a team that might be the most popular in Mexico but are playing as anything but a great team. Thus it will be a great opportunity that Aguirre just can’t waste.

Chivas has once again had another terrible start to their season. Criticism rained over Chivas after an embarrassing mid-week loss to Leon. It got so bad that sporting director Ricardo Pelaez made a video in which they accepted the anger from fans, but it didn’t really help. Fans chanted for Coach Vucetich to get fired, which means that Chivas are not only coming in a funk from their level of play but with all the pressure on their back of what a loss could bring. The only positive is that Chivas has had success in Estadio BBVA before, but although they had gone to that stadium in tough situations before, this might be a new low. Chivas has everything against them and it’s no surprise that they will need a huge upset for them to get a result against a Monterrey side that seems poised to maybe end the job of one of their historic coaches in Vucetich. It might be ironic that the team that gave him the most glory might put an end to his tenure in Guadalajara.

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

Date: Saturday, August 21st

Time: 10:30 p.m. Eastern, 9:30 p.m. Central, 7:30 p.m. Pacific, 2:30 a.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio BBVA (Guadalupe, N.L.)

Referees: REF: Diego Montaño Robles, AR1: Enríque Isaac Bustos Díaz, AR2: Jonathan Maximiliano Gómez, 4TH: Victor Alfonso Caceres Hernandez, VAR: Carlos Ayala Cuéllar, AVAR: Jesús Sevilla Palafox

Television: United States - ESPN Deportes Network; Mexico - FOX Sports 2, TUDN, Azteca; 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

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