GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Jose Torres and his Tigres UANL side are challenged with putting out reigning Liga MX champions Club América at Estadio Azteca on Sunday in the second leg of the quarterfinals (6 pm ET, Univision Deportes).
The first leg last weekend finished 2-2 in Monterrey, with the away-goals rule giving América an advantage in this Apertura playoff.
Once again, Torres is likely to start on the bench, with Tigres boasting a full-strength squad and Argentine Guido Pizarro having edged in front of the Texan in coach Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti’s lineup in recent weeks.
Las Águilas finished the regular season in first place and are considered favorites to make the semifinals, but Tigres will have up to 10,000 fans traveling down from Monterrey hoping for an upset.
In the Ascenso MX final, Sonny Guadarrama’s Necaxa host Universidad de Guadalajara on Saturday (9 pm ET) looking to overturn the 1-0 deficit from Wednesday’s first leg to win Mexico’s second-division title.
Club América loanee Ventura Alvarado – a center back from Arizona – could also see action for Los Rayos.
In Mexico’s Under-20 championship, Benji Joya and Daniel Cuevas could be involved for Santos Laguna as the club travels to Club León on Saturday for the defining leg of the final, with the score 2-2 from the first leg (1 pm ET).
Tom Marshall covers Americans playing in Latin America for MLSsoccer.com. E-mail him at tom.marshall.mex@gmail.com.
