GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Atlas left back Edgar Castillo confronts his former team Club América on Saturday in Estadio Azteca, with a 2015 Copa Libertadores place only guaranteed with a victory in the final round of regular season matches in the Apertura 2014 tournament (6 p.m. ET, Univision Deportes).
Castillo spiced up the encounter this week by declaring in a press conference that he has no special affection for Las Aguilas and that he’d like to defeat them.
Also in the hunt for a Copa Libertadores spot is Herculez Gomez and Jose Torres’ Tigres, who host second-placed Toluca in Estadio Universitario on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, UniMas).
Like Atlas, Tigres have to win to guarantee a spot in the CONMEBOL competition, and both Americans should be involved after recovering from minor injuries over recent weeks.
US international Greg Garza returned from national team duty midweek and is set to feature as Club Tijuana host León (Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET, Azteca America, ESPN Deportes), but the Xolos have little to play for with the playoffs out of reach
In the relegation race, Michael Orozco’s Puebla will be looking for a boost to take into the winter break when they play Santos Laguna at home on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, Azteca America, ESPN Deportes).
There’s American action in the Ascenso MX playoff semifinal second legs as well, with Marco Vidal’s Mineros de Zacatecas attempting to overturn the 1-0 deficit from the first leg against Necaxa (Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET).
Goalkeeper Austin Guerrero will have to be at his best for Altamira, who travel to Coras on Saturday after having lost 2-1 in the first leg (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET).
