Match preview: Gallos Blancos de Querétaro vs. Santos Laguna

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

Date: Saturday, September 10th

Time: 6:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Central, 3:00 p.m. Pacific, 10:00 p.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Corregidora (Querétaro, Qro.)

Referees: REF: Luis Enrique Santander Aguirre, AR1: Andres Hernández Delgado, AR2: Jéssica Fernanda Morales Morales, 4TH: Edgar Ulises Rangel Araujo, VAR: Gerardo Martínez Bravo, AVAR: Diana Stephanía Pérez Borja

Television: United States - TUDN, Univision; Mexico - FOX Sports

Streaming: fuboTV (Subscription), TUDN En Vivo

All-time record: Santos holds the edge all time over all competitions, winning 21 to Querétaro’s 13 with the clubs drawing 13 times. They’ve only met three times outside of Liga MX play, with each team winning once and the clubs drawing once in Copa MX play. In the last meeting, the clubs tied 1-1 back on April 16, 2022 with goals from Jordan Carrillo and an autogol from Félix Torres. The last time the clubs met at La Corregidora, Santos beat Querétaro 3-2 in La Corregidora on October 30, 2021. Santos got a brace from Ayrton Preciado and a goal from Diego Valdés, while Querétaro got goals from Bryan Oilvera and Jonathan Dos Santos.

Photo by Carlos Heredia/Jam Media/Getty Images

Santos has hit the meatgrinder portion of their season, cramming ten games into the span of little more than a month from August 14 to September 18. The good news is that in the seven games so far they’ve won five and only lost two on the road. The bad news is that two of their final four matches are on the road, starting tomorrow night at Querétaro. Santos has won two games on the road during that stretch, beating Pumas 5-1 in CU and Xolos 2-0 in Tijuana, but those are their only wins on the road this season.

Santos is in third place on the table thanks in part to their goalscoring abilities. Their 27 goals through 13 games is second to only América’s 29. While Juan Brunetta’s four goals lead the team, Leo Suárez, Javier Correa, Harold Preciado, and Eduardo “Mudo” Aguirre have each contributed three this season with eight others contributing at least one goal.

Santos is however battling injuries at the moment, with Matheus Dória and Félix Torres out for the next couple of weeks at least with an ankle injury and a hamstring injury respectively. Hugo Rodríguez and Roni Prieto have filled in admirably, and Santos sit in seventh place in the league with 15 goals conceded through 13 games. They will get Carrillo back for the match, as he missed the game against Necaxa due to a red card suspension.

Photo by Mauricio Salas/Jam Media/Getty Images

Querétaro meanwhile has none of these luxuries. They’re in last place with just eight points, and only Cruz Azul’s -13 goal differential is worse than their -12. They’ve allowed 25 goals while scoring just 13. Ariel Nahuelpán and Ángel Sepúlveda each have contributed three goals so far this season, but no one else has more than one.

Despite their struggles, Querétaro can’t be taken lightly. Six of their eight points have come at La Corregidora, and Santos’ struggles on the road while largely absent lately are well documented. They also have the luxury of not having to worry about a midweek match against Club América in Estadio Azteca.