América vs New England: Liga MX club on cusp of CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-finals

A club chasing a domestic and continental double, Club América look to have one foot in the next round ahead of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final second leg against New England Revolution. América were 4-0 winners in the opener in Massachusetts a week ago - but Las Águilas’ recent record in home second legs ought to serve as a potent deterrent against complacency.

América’s home-leg defeats: a timeline

On four occasions over the past year - in both the Liga MX and the Champions Cup - América have won the first leg on the road, before failing to impress in the return at the Estadio Azteca.

In the Clausura 2023 quarter-finals last May, an América side still coached by Fernando Ortiz beat Atlético San Luis 3-1 in the opener at the Estadio Alfonso Lastras. They went on to progress to the semi-finals, but only after San Luis - then under the stewardship of current América boss André Jardine - had won 2-1 at the Azteca and had threatened to turn the tie around.

In the following round of the Clausura 2023 playoffs, away victory was again followed by home defeat - and this time it cost América. Having beaten arch rivals Chivas Guadalajara 1-0 at the Estadio Akron, Los Azulcremas went down 3-1 on home soil. Their exit at the last-four stage signalled the end of Ortiz’s tenure as head coach.

Since Jardine replaced Ortiz in June last year, América have remained prone to second-leg drop-offs. In the semi-finals of the Apertura 2023 in December, the 14-time Mexican champions thumped San Luis 5-0 at the Alfonso Lastras. They advanced to the trophy decider - in which they beat Tigres - but an experimental XI lost the second leg 2-0.

And, most recently, América suffered an almighty scare last month, in the last 16 of this season’s Champions Cup. After sweeping to a 3-0 away win over Chivas, Jardine’s men found themselves 2-0 down at half time of the return at the Azteca. The hosts survived the fright, however: they brought themselves level on the night by the hour mark, before finally losing the second leg 3-2.

Club América vs New England Revolution: start time, how to watch

Club América host New England Revolution today, Tuesday 9 April 2024, with kick-off at the Estadio Azteca scheduled for 10:30pm ET/7:30pm PT. Viewers in the United States will be able to watch the game on Fox Sports 1 and TUDN USA.

Possible América line-up vs New England:

Luis Ángel Malagón, Israel Reyes, Sebastián Cáceres, Igor Lichnovski, Cristian Calderón, Álvaro Fidalgo, Jonathan Dos Santos, Richard Sánchez, Alejandro Zendejas, Julián Quiñones, Henry Martín.

What would happen if the Champions Cup tie finished level?

Were América to allow New England to make up their four-goal first-leg deficit, the first tiebreaker used would be the away-goals rule. Were this unable to separate the teams, they would play 30 minutes of extra time. If the additional half-hour failed to produce a winner, it would be followed by a penalty shootout.

Who will the winner of América vs New England face in the semi-finals?

Pachuca appear all but certain to be the opposition in the last four of the Champions Cup. The seven-time Mexican league winners thumped Herediano 5-0 in the first leg last week, and host the Costa Ricans in the return in Mexico on Wednesday.

When are the Champions Cup semi-finals?

The first legs of the last-four ties are due to be played on 23/24/25 April 2024, with the second legs on 30 April, or 1/2 May 2024.