This year’s best underdog story in Mexican soccer is Necaxa, who have made the semifinals of the Liguilla playoffs in their first season since returning to the top flight. They’ll have a tough time getting through their next series, though, against Mexican giants Club America.
Necaxa vs. América 2016: Start time, TV schedule, live stream, and 3 things to know for Liga MX playoffs
Can Necaxa pull another big upset against Club America? Their home record suggests they won’t go down without a big fight.
Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Necaxa hosted the regular season meeting between the teams and scraped a draw. Paolo Goltz scored the opener for America, but Necaxa won a penalty late in the first half, which Edson Puch converted to grab a 1-1 result for his team.
America came out on top of a closely contested rivalry series in the quarterfinals, beating Chivas de Guadalajara 2-1 on aggregate. Necaxa pulled off a big upset of defending champions Pachuca, winning 2-1 at home before pulling off a 0-0 draw on the road to advance.
While Necaxa is an underdog in the series, they should be able to keep themselves in the tie with a decent first leg performance. They’re undefeated at home this season, and didn’t lose a single home game during their last tournament in the second division either.
Bruno Valdez returns to the America squad after missing the quarterfinals due to an injury, but star Rubens Sambueza will not be available on Thursday. Without him, there will be added pressure on Carlos Darwin Quintero and Oribe Peralta. Both had average seasons for America, but combined for the winning goal against Chivas in the last round.
Match date/time: Thursday, December 1, 10 p.m. ET
How to watch online: Univision Deportes en vivo, Fubo, Sling.
TV: Univision Deportes (U.S. -- Spanish), TDN, Canal 5 Televisa (Mexico).
Venue: Estadio Victoria, Aguascalientes, Mexico
Make friends: Hang out over at Mexican soccer blog FMF State of Mind.
See More:
