CARSON, Calif. - Suspensions and personal matters have taken away a trio of players from Chivas but injuries won't deplete the squad any further.
For Sunday's InterLiga final against Veracruz, Chivas will be minus Gonzalo Pineda, Manuel Sol and Adolfo Bautista, but several banged-up players will give it a go, Chivas coach Hans Westerhof said.
Pineda and Sol will miss the match after each picked up a pair of yellow cards in the group phase. Each player was booked in Chivas' opening 5-3 victory over Tigres and each player received a yellow card in the final 10 minutes in Tuesday's tie with Necaxa.
Bautista, meanwhile, returned to Mexico to tend to personal matters, Westerhof said.
Although the trio will not play, Westerhof said their loss will not be fatal.
"There will be some changes but I have a lot of confidence in (Sergio) Santana, (Alejandro) Vela and (Jorge) Barrera," he said.
Santana, who joined Chivas in the offseason from Pachuca, as well as Chivas youth products Vela and Barrera will start in place of the missing trio.
Earlier in the week several other players were nursing injuries. As late as Friday Westerhof doubted whether or not Ramon Morales or Alberto Medina could play. Morales played just 45 minutes against Necaxa and was taken out in favor of Santana at halftime. Medina, meanwhile, has played every minute of InterLiga thus far, but Westerhof mentioned him among the injured after Tuesday's game.
With a win, both sides would qualify directly to Copa Libertadores only if Monterrey beats Tigres in Sunday's first match. If Tigres and Chivas both win, Chivas would be designated "Mexico 3" and would go through to a play-in match like they did a year ago. The team in the "Mexico 3" slot will face Colo Colo of Chile for the right to play in Copa Libertadores.
In their last eight games played Chivas has beaten Veracruz four times. Los Tiburones Rojos have a pair of wins and two of their matches finished in draws.
Veracruz is the revelation of the tournament. The club is in a battle against relegation, yet might still qualify for its first-ever Copa Libertadores. Veracruz will be missing midfielder Lucas Ayala, who also picked up a pair of yellow cards in the group stage.
However, Veracruz gets back the services of Oscar Rojas. In each of the first two games, Rojas received a yellow card and was forced to sit out Wednesday's group stage finale against Morelia. Rojas, a native of Costa Rica, scored the game-winner against Pachuca in their opener on Jan. 5. Ayala scored the first goal that night.
Veracruz has relied solely on Gustavo Biscayzacu the last two games for offense. The Uruguayan has scored both of Veracruz's goals their last two games; in a 2-1 loss over Monterrey and in the 1-0 win over Morelia that sent the club through to Sunday's final.
A year ago, Chivas beat surprising Chiapas in an InterLiga final. The clubs tied 1-1 in regulation but Chivas won 5-3 on penalties.
Luis Bueno is a contributor to InterLiga.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the league or its clubs.
