Santos Laguna vs. LA Galaxy | CONCACAF Champions League Match Preview

March 1, 10 pm ET (FS2, Sportsnet World)
Santos Laguna vs. LA Galaxy
Estadio Corona,  Torreón, Coahuila, México
2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals, second leg

After the first round of the quarterfinals, the LA Galaxy are looking like the best-positioned MLS side to advance to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, but can Santos Laguna spoil the fun?

The Galaxy have plenty of star power to advance following their first-leg scoreless draw at StubHub Center, but all the pieces that head coach Bruce Arena have brought in are not yet clicking on all cylinders. LA’s 2016 preseason has been relatively quiet lately, with one goal in their last three games. Five newcomers made the first-leg starting lineup, including Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong and English defender Ashley Cole.

It was the familiar attacking trio Robbie Keane, Giovani dos Santos and Gyasi Zardes that provided the best spark in the first leg, and Arena will be looking to those three to get the job done in Leg 2. It will be tougher at the hostile environment of Estadio Corona, but the Galaxy are plenty capable of winning on the road. Because away goals are the series tiebreaker, a good showing in the second leg would be huge for LA.

"The second leg is wide open with the 0-0 score," dos Santos told ESPN Deportes. "It is too bad that we couldn't solidify the chances that we did have to score, but the team is headed in the right direction."

Santos Laguna haven’t exactly looked their best lately. They’ve been unable to win a match since Jan. 29 against a struggling Queretaro side and sat ninth in the Liga MX table heading into the CCL series. The Galaxy out-shot Santos in the first leg, 13-11. Two starting Santos strikers are not expected to feature in Leg 2, Andres Renteria (yellow-card accumulation) and Djaniny (injury).

Team Notes

• LA Galaxy:Can the reloaded Galaxy find CCL glory?
• Santos Laguna:Will Santos make a third run to the final?

Pick 'Em

"The Galaxy are in transition mode, but the talent on the field should be enough to defeat a Santos Laguna side that is not one of the best we’ve seen in CCL." -- Ben Baer

"My gut tells me I’m not winning this pick. But my mind tells me, all the defensive reinforcements the Galaxy brought in over the offseason have not jelled well yet." -- Diego Pinzon

*These picks are for the series, not individual legs

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