Filed under:
Santos and América meet in Torreón with both teams in desperate need of a win.
If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
Game: Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. vs. Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V.
Date: Saturday, January 12th
Time: 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Central, 7:00 p.m. Pacific, 2:00 a.m. UTC
Venue: Estadio Corona TSM (Torreón, Coah.)
Referees: REF: Luis Enrique Santander Aguirre, AR1: Marco Antonio Bisguerra Mendiola, AR2: César Arturo Cerritos García, 4TH: Ismael Rosario Lopez Peñuelas, VAR: Fernando Hernandez Gomez, AVAR: Michel Alejandro Morales Morales
Television: United States – FOX Sports 2, FOX Deportes Network; Mexico – TUDN, Azteca 7, Canal 5 Televisa
Streaming: fuboTV (Subscription), Sling TV (Subscription), FOX Sports app, Vidgo (Subscription)
All-time record: Club América holds a decisive edge over all competitions, winning 44 to Santos’ 21 while the clubs have drawn 20 times since their first meeting back in 1988. Outside of Liga MX play, these teams have met in several competitions. The teams met in a pre-Copa Libertadores match in 1998 that Santos won 1-0. They met in the Interliga in 2010 that América won 3-1. Santos won the 2014 Campeón de Campeones 1-0 while América knocked Santos out of the CCL Semifinal in 2016, and each team has one win in Copa MX play from the 2017 Clausura, The last time the teams met, América beat Santos 2-1 thanks to goals from Álvaro Fidalgo and Sebastián Córdova, with Fernando Gorriarán converting a penalty for Santos’ lone goal. In their last meeting in Torreón, they drew 1-1 back on January 31, 2021 with Henry Martin and Santiago Muñoz scoring for América and Santos respectively.
Both Santos and América have the opportunity to put dreadful starts to the 2022 Clausura behind them as they face one another in Torreón. Santos has lost their last three games in a row, equaling their worst three game regular season stretch since the end of the 2018 Apertura where they dropped three in a row to end the season. Their last four game losing streak was all the way back in the 2011 Clausura when they lost five in a row, which saw the firing of Rubén Omar Romano part of the way through.
A glimmer of hope has appeared for Santos however, with Harold Preciado scoring a goal in his first appearance with the club in their 2-1 loss to Atlas in their last outing. Preciado will need to bring a goal scoring presence to the team, since Santos has only scored four goals in their four games, with forwards Ignacio Jeraldino and Eduardo Aguirre yet to find the back of the net this season.
América comes into the match under similar circumstances, having lost their last two matches and sitting in 16th place on the table, although they have a game in hand against most teams. Still, being shut out at home to Atlas and losing 3-2 against Atlético San Luis have a lot of their fans calling for manager Santiago Solari’s sacking.
América have former Santos players Diego Valdés and Juan Ferney Otero on the roster, with Valdés joining during the offseason and Otero going after Santos’ first two games. They are however also coming into the match without Miguel Layún, who was red carded in América’s match against San Luis. Bruno Valdez may get his first start since suffering a gruesome injury against Santos back in October.
Both teams should be giving it their all in this one. Both teams are struggling, and their managers are likely already on the hot seat. Santos might have the advantage playing in Torreón, but it’s worth remembering that their last outing at home was a disastrous 4-1 loss against Necaxa. Like most other things for both of these teams this season, nothing is guaranteed and nothing should be taken for granted.
