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Match preview: Puebla F.C. vs. Santos Laguna

Both Santos and Puebla won high-scoring games last week, but Estadio Cuauhtémoc has proven a tough place to play - for both teams.

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General view inside the stadium prior the quarterfinals first leg match between Puebla and America as part of the Torneo Grita Mexico C22 Liga MX at Cuauhtemoc Stadium on May 11, 2022 in Puebla, Mexico. Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images

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

Date: Friday, July 8th

Time: 10:05 p.m. Eastern, 9:05 p.m. Central, 7:05 p.m. Pacific, 2:05 a.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Cuauhtémoc (Puebla, Pue.)

Referees: REF: César Arturo Ramos Palazuelos, AR1: Alberto Morín Méndez, AR2: Miguel Ángel Hernández Paredes, 4TH: Lizzet Amairany García Olvera, VAR: Fernando Guerrero Ramírez, AVAR: Brian Omar Gonzalez Veles

Television: United States - TUDN; Mexico - ESPN2, Azteca

Streaming: fuboTV (Subscription), TUDN En Vivo

All-time record: Santos holds the all time record across all competitions, winning 28 to Puebla’s 16 with 25 draws. The only time the clubs have met outside of Liga MX play was a wild win by Santos in the 2014 Apertura Copa MX Final in penalties. The last time the clubs met, Santos got a 2-2 draw in Puebla back on March 19 thanks to goals from Eduardo “Mudo” Aguirre and Leo Suárez, while Israel Reyes and Martín Barragán scored for the home side.

Brian Lozano of Santos celebrates with teammates after scoring the fourth goal of his team at during the 1st round match between Santos Laguna and Monterrey as part of Torneo Apertura 2022 Liga MX Corona Stadium on July 3, 2022 in Torreon, Mexico.
Brian Lozano’s penalty kick at the end of regulation saw Santos pick up a thrilling win at home.
Photo by Manuel Guadarrama/Getty Images

After a thrilling win at home to start the season, Santos heads to the city of Puebla in the state of Puebla to face Puebla F.C. Santos started slowly in their first match against Monterrey but fought their way back into the match, culminating with Brian “Huevo” Lozano’s penalty kick in stoppage that gave Santos a confidence-building win at home.

Santos looked good at home against Monterrey, and historically they’ve always had an acute home field advantage. Santos’ downfall has however usually been on the road, and they’ll try and shake that tonight against a team that has struggled in their own building.

Nicolas Larcamon, head coach of Puebla prior the quarterfinals second leg match between America and Puebla as part of the Torneo Grita Mexico C22 Liga MX at Azteca Stadium on May 14, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico.
Nicolas Larcamon and Puebla return home, where they got just 11 out of 24 possible points.
Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Los Larcaboys gained a reputation for overperforming, but it was built mostly on the backs of road wins. Last season Puebla won five and lost four away from Estadio Cuauhtémoc, however only won two at home, settling for five draws.

Puebla brought in a lot of reinforcements over the offseason, however only Gasón Silva and Iván Moreno started the match against Mazatlán, with Omar Fernández and Luis García coming off of the bench. True to form they won 4-2 against Mazatlán, and they’ll be looking to build off of their momentum to get a rare win at home.

Simply looking at trends, it would be easy to dismiss this game as one where neither team will play well. But it would also dismiss that both teams are very exciting and dynamic, each scoring four goals and capable of putting on a show.