It’s down to four. FC Dallas and C.F. Pachuca will kick off their CONCACAF Champions League Semifinal meeting with Leg One on Wednesday night at Toyota Stadium. Dallas took the top spot in Group H during the group stage before dismantling Panamanian-side Arabe Unido two weeks ago in the Quarterfinal round, 5-2 on aggregate. Pachuca advanced out of Group G and advanced at home over Deportivo Saprissa with a 4-0 Leg Two win.
Key Match-Ups
Matt Hedges vs. Franco Jara: The Tuzos’ striker has goals in three straight matches across all competitions and led his team in scoring with 4 goals so far in the Clausura (second half) campaign, continuing his nine-goal performance from last tournament. With fellow offensive threat Hirving Lozano (second on the team with three goals) out after suffering a gruesome leg injury less than two weeks ago, Jara will be the main threat for Pachuca in Leg One.
Cristian Colman vs. Omar Gonzalez: The U.S. Men’s National Team star and former LA Galaxy defender anchors the Pachuca back line alongside Oscar Murillo, each with almost 2,200 minutes played in 2016-17. Colman and Maxi Urruti will have their work cut out against a Tuzos defense that has allowed a Liga MX-low seven goals through nine weeks of the league’s Clausura schedule.
How They Line Up
Pachuca has largely gone back and forth between a 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 look over their last several matches, both Liga MX and CCL. In the road leg of their Quarterfinal match-up with Saprissa, the Tuzos played a defensive 5-3-2 formation and earned a 0-0 draw before going full-attack at home in Leg Two with a 3-5-2 look and a 4-0 win as a result.
With Lozano out for Leg One and looking to play a similar low-scoring, even affair before Leg Two at home, I’d expect Pachuca to come out in a 4-5-1 look something like below:
Oscar Perez; Emmanuel Garcia, Oscar Murillo, Omar Gonzalez, Raul Lopez; Roberto Alvarado, Erick Gutierrez, Jorge Hernandez, Victor Guzman, Jonathan Urretaviscaya; Franco Jara.
Key to Leg One
Wednesday’s home leg is essentially a must-win for FC Dallas, knowing a difficult Leg Two in the altitude in Mexico awaits them in just three weeks’ time. Maintaining strong defensive shape is key in not allowing the all-important road goal to the visitors, but Dallas will look to exploit the Tuzos on the counter to take a lead south of the border in April. Feeling out the game early and capitalizing on your chances when you get them is crucial for Oscar Pareja’s team.
