The New York Red Bulls and Chivas Guadalajara look to take the first step toward booking their place in the CONCACAF Champions League final as the two teams meet in the second semifinal Wednesday.
The Red Bulls did what few MLS teams have been able to accomplish — win in Mexico — as they took both legs of their quarterfinal against Tijuana by an overall 5-1 aggregate margin.
Meanwhile, Chivas overcame a sluggish Clausura and a first leg defeat in the quarterfinal to the Seattle Sounders, but hammering the MLS side 3-0 in the return leg to win 3-1 on aggregate.
The winner of this contest will face the team that emerges from the other semifinal between Toronto FC and Club America.
| Game | Chivas de Guadalajara vs New York Red Bulls |
| Date | Wednesday, April 4 |
| Time | 10 p.m. ET |
| Stream (U.S. only) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (U.S.), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| U.S. TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Univision Deportes | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be televised or streamed.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| None | None |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Chivas players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Cota, Jimenez, Rodriguez, Torres |
| Defenders | Alanis, C. Cisneros, Galindo, Hernandez, Marin, Mayorga, Pereira, Salcido |
| Midfielders | Beltran, Brizuela, Cervantes, Lopez, Macías, Perez, Pineda, Pizarro, Sandoval, Torres |
| Forwards | Basulto, Benitez, R. Cisneros, Godinez, Macias, Pulido, Sanchez |
Jesus Sanchez and Alan Cervantes look likely to miss out with knee injuries. Hedgardo Marin is out with a thigh problem.
Javier "La Chofis" Lopez is a doubt with a leg injury.
Potential Chivas starting XI: Cota; C. Cisneros, Salcido, Alanis, Hernandez; Brizuela, Perez, Pineda, Lopez; Pizarro; Pulido.
| Position | New York Red Bulls players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Louro, Meara, Robles |
| Defenders | Collin, Duncan, Escobar, Lade, Lawrence, Long, Murillo, Ndam, Parker, Politz, Redding |
| Midfielders | Adams, Bezecourt, Casseres Jr., Davis, Mines, Muyl, Gamarra, Royer, Rzatkowski, Valot |
| Forwards | Abang, Bonomo, Etienne Jr., Rivas, Wright-Phillips |
The Red Bulls will be without defender Fidel Escobar as he misses out with a hamstring injury.
Potential America starting XI: Robles; Murillo, Parker, Long, Lawrence; Adams, Davis, Muyl, Gamarra, Royer; Wright-Phillips
Betting & Match Odds
Chivas are solid favorites to win the match with dabblebet pricing them at 8/15. The Red Bulls are priced at 5/1 to come away with their second straight victory in Mexico and a draw is available at 13/5.
Click here to see all of dabblebet's offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more .
Match Preview
One thing is clear with the Red Bulls — they have prioritized the CONCACAF Champions League this season.
Head coach Jesse Marsch has been willing to field backup and reserve sides for games in MLS, saving the likes of Bradley Wright-Phillips and Tyler Adams for the quarterfinal matches against Tijuana. That was the case again this past weekend, with a mostly reserve side losing a close one to Orlando City, meaning the Red Bulls XI should be fairly fresh Wednesday night in Guadalajara.
They face off against a Chivas team that had success in 2016-17, but missed the playoffs in the Apertura, and currently sits outside the playoff positions in the Clausura.
However, that does not mean this "grande" should be taken for granted. Despite Chivas' struggles, they are undefeated in their last seven Liga MX games. Only two of those games have been victories, though, and the club's home form has been poor. Chivas has won just two games at the Estadio Chivas since October. Both of those came in the CONCACAF Champions League — against Dominican Republic side Cibao and the Sounders, who are winless in MLS this season.
Of course, MLS sides can never take results in Mexico for granted and though the Red Bulls have already won once south of the border, they know they will be in for a difficult challenge Wednesday.
As Toronto FC showed in the last round, away goals can be crucial, so securing a result with some goals scored will be important for New York. Most of all, the team cannot allow itself to get hammered like the Sounders did in the second leg against Chivas, which would leave the Red Bulls will it all to do when they head back to Harrison, New Jersey, for the second leg next Tuesday.
