Pachuca hosts Club America Wednesday in the first leg of the Liga MX quarterfinal round. The matchup brings together two teams with a recent history of intense meetings, particularly in knockout stages.
The match at Estadio Hidalgo is scheduled for 11:10 p.m. Eastern Time. The contest will be televised on TUDN.
While Club America finished the Clausura season in second place compared to Pachuca's eighth-place finish and subsequent play-in victory over Monterrey, Pachuca has found recent success against the Mexico City side.
Pachuca eliminated Club America in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal. They also secured a 1-0 league victory last month in their most recent meeting.
The teams previously met in the 2024 Clausura Liguilla quarterfinals. Club America advanced then as the higher seed after a 2-2 aggregate draw.
This series marks another chapter in the rivalry, with Pachuca having a strong record against Club America in knockout rounds, advancing in five of their seven Liguilla encounters.
Venezuelan striker SalomĂłn RondĂłn of Pachuca addressed the rivalry this week, referencing the controversial finish to the Clausura 2024 quarterfinal where a late Club America goal secured their passage.
"That three-peat is pretty tainted because of certain things," Rondón told Fox Sports, adding the match should have ended differently without a disputed throw-in call. "I’m not taking away their merit, but without that play, the match would’ve ended, and we wouldn’t be talking about América as three-time champions.”
