Club America Ripe For Defeat Against Bravos

The match between Club America and FC Juarez was once again moved by Liga BBVA Mx on Sunday afternoon. The match will now be played today at 730pm MST at Estadio Azteca in the south part of Mexico City. This match will wrap of Matchweek 3 of the 2021 clausura season in Mexican soccer.

The match was originally postponed last Thursday by the league when 3 players, 1 assistant coach and 2 members of the staff for America tested positive for COVID. During that announcement the league said that the match would be played on February 3rd.

The date of the match may have changed twice in the span of 5 days but the status quo remains the same. Despite playing at home, this situation has complicated things for Club America more than for the Bravos.

The 3 players that tested positive for America are their star goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, and midfielders Nicolas Benedetti and Richard Sanchez. Ochoa is an undeniable starter, Sanchez is a frequent starter and Benedetti typically comes in off the bench nearly every game as a spark in the home stretch. These will be three notable absences on Tuesday night. Add the fact Mexico’s most hated soccer team has a new coach with only 2 matches under his belt with this team, making the situation for FC Juarez that much more favorable.

Head coach Santiago Solari comes to Club America from Europe where he spent a majority of his playing career and also began his coaching career. His most recent stint as a head coach was with the almighty Real Madrid. As impressive as that resume may be, Solari simply hasn’t had enough time with America to make his presence felt as far as the team executing the style of soccer he wants them to play.

The team from the Mexican capital has accumulated 3 points in two matches thus far this season as a result of 1 win and 1 loss.

For FC Juarez, they do not have as many factors to deal with tonight. They only have one player that is injured (Francisco Contreras). The Bravos have tied both of their matches and improved in their team execution over the two matches despite failing to get the win.

Add to the fact that the Bravos have yet to lose to America at Estadio Azteca in two appearances (1 win and 1 draw) and all off a sudden things look rather good, if not favorable for FC Juarez on the road at the beginning of what will be the toughest stretch of the season over the course of the next 3 matches (Bravos will play Chivas in Guadalajara this Saturday and Tigres in the Borderland next Friday).

Tonight’s match will be televised live nationally on two networks, TUDN, DirecTV ch. 464/Spectrum ch. 444 and on ESPN Deportes DirecTV ch. 466/Spectrum ch. 328/877.