Where to watch Club America vs. Monterrey, lineups, live stream: Liga MX final prediction, TV channel, odds

The Liga MX Apertura is coming to a close as Club America and CF Monterrey will face off with the tile on the line. While they may not have topped the table before playoffs started, these are two of the most experienced sides in navigating the playoffs with 20 Liga MX titles between them. 

Club America have a record 15 but in recent years, Monterrey have grown as a force. Now they’ll have a home and away leg to see who will take this current version and there will be American involvement. Alex Zendejas scored for America in their most recent match while Brandon Vazquez came off the bench to do the same for Monterrey.

Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:

How to watch and odds

• Date: Thursday, Dec. 12 | Time: 9 p.m. ET
• Location: Estadio Cuauhtemoc — Puebla, Mexico
• TV: TUDN  | Live stream: Fubo TV (Try for free)
• Odds: Club America +105; Draw +220; Monterrey +280

How they got here

Monterrey: Earning a seeded place in the playoffs after finishing fifth, Rayados have proceeded to let the goals fly in their matches so far hanging six on Pumas and six more on San Luis en route to making the final. The defense may be a concern allowing six goals but this is one of the most dangerous attacks in Liga MX led by German Berterame but there are contributions through the entire squad.

Club America: They’ve grinded through more matches than Monterrey allowing only three goals in the playoffs so far but all of those goals came at the hands of league leaders Cruz Azul during a wild 4-3 victory that saw two players sent off with red cards deep into stoppage time after Rodrigo Aguirre’s 94th minute penalty broke the deadlock in the match.

Storylines

Monterrey: Going up against America’s tough defense, it will be a chance to see how good Monterrey’s attack is. While a team doesn’t make it to the final by accident, the stakes are different when facing Mexico’s most successful team. Not being able to keep clean sheets will make Monterrey’s job harder but that also makes for quite a watchable final.

Monterrey predicted XI: Luis Cardenas, Stefan Medina, Hector Moreno, Gerardo Arteaga, Sergio Canales, Oliver Torres, Jorge Rodriguez, Iker Jareth Fimbres Ochoa, Lucas Ocampos, Roberto de la Rosa, German Berterame

Club America: Aguirre may have scored the winner to see off Cruz Azul but after being red carded, Andre Jardine will need to figure out what to do without one of his strikers being available. It will put more pressure on Henry Martin and Zendejas, but when this game could be a close one, depth off the bench will be critical.

Club America predicted XI: Luis Malagon, Cristian Borja, Sebastian Caceres, Ramon Juarez Del Castillo, Israel Reyes, Alvaro Fidalgo, Jonathan dos Santos, Richard Sanchez, Henry Martin, Alex Zendejas

Prediction

It’ll be a first leg that leaves us wanting more which is good since these teams will play again on Sunday to decide the final. Pick: Club America 2, Monterrey 2