Cruz Azul visits Santos Laguna on Thursday night in the first leg of the Liga MX final hoping to break a 24-year drought in which it has repeatedly squandered title opportunities.
In recent months, Cruz Azul has been a dominant force in Mexican competition, at one point claiming 12 consecutive domestic victories.
Behind the goalscoring exploits of star forward Jonathan Rodriguez, and the energy of important young play-off performer Santiago Gimenez, the club would like to continue its momentum by at least grabbing an away goal at the Corona Stadium.
Ahead of the game, Goal has the details of how to watch on TV, stream live online, team news and more.
| Game | Santos Laguna vs Cruz Azul |
| Date | Thursday, May 27 |
| Time | 7 pm PT / 10 pm ET |
TV channel, live stream & how to watch
In the United States (U.S.), the game can be watched live on Fox Sports 2. An online stream for the match will be available on the Fox Sports App and FoxSports.com.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Fox Sports 2 | Fox Sports App |
Team news & rosters
| Position | Santos Laguna players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Acevedo, Lajud |
| Defenders | Doria, Caicedo, Andrade, Rodriguez, Monjaraz, Orrantia, Govea |
| Midfielders | Torres, Otero, Valdes, Cervantes, Gorriaran, Munoz, Preciado, Ibarguen, Isijara, Prieto |
| Forwards | Aguirre, Ocejo, Jeraldino |
Winger Brian Lozano is out for the season due to injury.
Predicted Santos Laguna starting XI: Acevedo, Orrantia, Doria, Caicedo, Monjaraz, Cervantes, Gorriaran, Valdes, Otero, Preciado, Aguirre.
| Position | Cruz Azul squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Corona, Jurado, Gudino |
| Defenders | Rivero, Escobar, Dominguez, Aldrete, Aguilar, Martinez, Lichnovsky, Pena, Garcia |
| Midfielders | Yotun, Romo, Baca, Fernandez, Alvarado, Hernandez, Pineda |
| Forwards | Rodriguez, Gimenez, Angulo |
Cruz Azul brings a healthy roster into the first leg, and manager Juan Reynoso is expected to start Gimenez in the attack after his semi-final heroics.
Predicted Cruz Azul starting XI: Corona, Escobar, Aguilar, Dominguez, Rivero, Baca, Fernandez, Romo, Pineda, Rodriguez, Gimenez.
Recent results & head-to-head
Last five results
| Santos Laguna results | Cruz Azul results |
|---|---|
| (May 23) Santos Laguna 0-1 Puebla | (May 22) Cruz Azul 1-0 Pachuca |
| (May 20) Santos Laguna 3-0 Puebla | (May 19) Cruz Azul 0-0 Pachuca |
| (May 16) Santos Laguna 1-1 Monterrey | (May 15) Cruz Azul 3-1 Toluca |
| (May 13) Santos Laguna 2-1 Monterrey | (May 12) Cruz Azul 1-2 Toluca |
| (May 8) Santos Laguna 5-0 Queretaro | (May 4) Cruz Azul 1-0 Toronto |
Head-to-head
| Date | Result |
|---|---|
| Jan 11, 2021 | Santos Laguna 1-0 Cruz Azul |
| Jul 26, 2020 | Cruz Azul 2-0 Santos Laguna |
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