Santos Laguna’s unbeaten start to the 2021 Liga MX Clausura will be tested when Club América visit the Estadio Corona in Week 4 with a chance to leapfrog their hosts in the standings. Guillermo Almada has made a fruitful start to his second full Clausura campaign with Santos, who are unbeaten in three games (two wins, one draw) and have yet to concede a goal.
What TV Channel is Santos Laguna-América on?
Santos Laguna hope to keep their pace near the Liga MX summit when they host América, kicking off with FS2 and FOX Deportes at 8 p.m. ET. You can live stream Liga MX matches on fuboTV.
How to Watch Santos Laguna vs. Club América
When: Sunday, January 31
Where: Estadio Corona, Torreón, Mexico
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FS2, FOX Deportes
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
In the other technical area, former Real Madrid manager Santiago Solari has won two of his first three games in charge of América but is still getting to grips with the team following a short pre-season. The guests’ chances are complicated considering their only defeat of the season so far was also their only away fixture, a 1-0 defeat at fourth-placed Monterrey. Solari’s side sealed some redemption with a 2-0 win over Juarez in Week 3 when goals from Emmanuel Aguilera and Roger Martinez secured all three points:
Club América beat FC Juárez 2-0 last night wearing that amazing kit. Their second goal from Roger Martínez was a beauty (via @ClubAmerica) pic.twitter.com/IiptdAmf3f
— Luis Miguel Echegaray (@lmechegaray) January 27, 2021
Victory in Torreón would lift Las Águilas above Santos and possibly secure a top-four place, but Mexico’s most decorated team hasn’t been successful in recent trips to the region. América lost 4-1 at the Estadio Corona during the 2018 Clausura, followed by a 1-1 draw at the same venue six months later.
Like Sunday’s opponents, Santos have also looked at their most impressive on home soil so far this season. Los Guerreros were held to a 0-0 stalemate when they visited Mazatlan in their last outing (January 22), with a greater respite between matches running in their favor.
Almada’s side bested Tigres 2-0 at home prior to that, underlining their candidacy as possible title challengers following a 1-0 win over Cruz Azul in Week 1:
Santos have four Clausura titles (five if we include the former Invierno/Verano competitions) since Liga MX moved to a two-phase format, more than any other team in Mexico’s top tier. It was only in 2018 that the club lifted the most recent of those trophies, but there’s still some sense of surprise in just how productive they’ve been early on this term.
Sunday’s hosts will be hurt by the absence of Diego Valdes, who will undergo surgery after fracturing a bone in his right foot. Their star midfielder has been involved in two of Santos’ three goals this season, including a superb long-range winner against Cruz Azul:
Diego Valdes with a goal worthy of winning any game 🚀 @ClubSantosEn pic.twitter.com/2Pip2pqPYv
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 11, 2021
A great deal of the club’s pristine record comes thanks to 24-year-old goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo, a homegrown product who looks a future contender for Mexico’s national team. With Valdes missing in midfield, even greater pressure falls on Acevedo and the defense to maintain standards, especially with the likes of Martinez, Henry Martin, Giovanni dos Santos & Co. being the next to test their talents.