It’s payback time for Club America. Saturday’s game against Pumas seems as a replay of last season’s match, which saw UNAM win over Mohamed’s men. Leading Apertura 2014 with 16 points, America’s coach remembers what happened last tournament, and hopes this time it's the other way around.
“We have to be considered the favorite to win the match, because we are doing a better tournament than them, but once the game starts, anything can happen. There’s a lot of pride involved in this game, and no matter how big the difference is, they will try to make us look bad in front of our home crowd,” coach Mohamed stated at a press conference.
“It’s one of our biggest rivalries; we have that awkward feeling remembering what happened a few months ago, and we surely don’t want to feel that again. We will try to be even better than we have been, we need to keep generating scoring options, and that way we’ll give our fans one more reason to celebrate,” the coach added.
Pumas get to this match after earning only one point in their last six outings. Yesterday, they lost 1-2 to Ascenso MX’s Merida in their Copa MX fixture, and hope to bounce back in this tournament with new coach Guillermo Vazquez.
America won’t be able to rely on Rubens Sambueza, who came down with an injury to his right leg. Nevertheless, Mohamed informed Miguel Layun will be returning to the starting eleven, after missing the last three games due to a jaw operation.
