Match preview: Pachuca vs. Santos Laguna

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

Date: Monday, September 18th

Time: 11:00 p.m. Eastern, 10:00 p.m. Central, 9:00 p.m. local, 8:00 p.m. Pacific, 3:00 a.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Hidalgo (Pachuca, Hgo.)

Referees: REF: Fernando Hernandez Gomez, AR1: Michel Ricardo Espinoza Ávalos, AR2: Enrique Martínez Sandoval, 4TH: Luis Alfredo García Rodríguez, VAR: Diego Montaño Robles, AVAR: Salvador Pérez Villalobos

Television: United States - TUDN; Mexico - Claro Sports, Fox Sports Premium

Streaming: fuboTV (Subscription), TUDN En Vivo, ViX (Mexico)

All-time record: Pachuca has a slight lead over Santos across all competitions, winning 25 to Santos’ 22 with 24 draws between them. The teams are equally as close in Liga MX play, with Pachuca’s 22 wins being one more than Sanots, with the teams splitting 22 draws. The teams met when were both in the Segunda División A (now Ascenso MX), with Pachuca winning twice, Santos winning once, and the clubs drawing once over the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons. The clubs also drew 1-1 in the 2008-09 SuperLiga and met in the 2018 Apertura Copa MX tournament, with Pachuca winning once and the teams drawing once as well. The last time the teams met, Santos downed Pachuca 4-2 in penalties in a repechaje match back in May.

Photo by Jos Alvarez/Jam Media/Getty Images

Returning from the international break, Santos could move as high as third as they face Pachuca on the road tonight. Santos has won two in a row, however both at home. On the road this season they’re 1-1-1, however they’re taking on a Pachuca team that lost their last two games in a combined 7-0.

Santos has been getting plenty of goals from Harold Preciado, whose five goals in seven games had him solely in the lead heading into the week. Juan Brunetta is also having a monster season, netting three goals so far and assisting on a few of the teams other eight goals.

Photo by Agustin Cuevas/Getty Images

Pachuca meanwhile has struggled offensively, scoring just three goals so far this season, not counting an own goal by Pumas’ Nathanael Ananias. That’s it. Out of seven games, three goals and an autogol, and yet they still have six points and could jump to 12th place with a win.

Santos’ historic shakiness on the road however has this game as anything but a sure thing. Pachuca has quality, and manager Guillermo Almada is one of the best in the league and knows Santos intimately, leading the team for six seasons before going to Pachuca in 2022. Both teams know what a win could mean here, and it should make for an entertaining game on a Monday night.