Getty Juan Dinenno of Pumas UNAM
Cruz Azul and Pumas UNAM are set to face off in the first leg of their Liga MX Semifinal matchup Thursday at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
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In the United States, both legs of the semifinal (Leg 1 starts at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday; Leg 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday) will be televised on TUDN.
But if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of Cruz Azul vs Pumas on FuboTV. Both the main bundle (100+ total channels) and the Latino package (30+ total channels) include TUDN, and both come with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Cruz Azul vs Pumas live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the match on-demand within three days of their conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
Cruz Azul vs Pumas Preview
Losers of three of their last four matches, Cruz Azul most recently fell to Tigres, 1-0, Sunday. The Machine only took 10 shots on goal the entire game to Tigres’ 24, and they could only manage to possess the ball 28 percent of the time in the loss. They looked out-manned and out-gunned in the loss.
Pumas UNAM finished second in the regular season table, while Cruz Azul finished fourth. Pumas has two wins and three draws on their last five matches, with their most recent contest ending in a scoreless tie against Pachuca last weekend. “We suffer more than necessary, I do not like to end a game in this way,” Pumas manager Andrés Lillini said. “Although it is a pass to the semifinals that leaves the club where it should be, we need to play better because there are two extremely complicated games coming.”
“We are in an incredible moment, these players brought us here and we are not going to give up what we do,” said Lillini. “We are among the best four in the tournament, but we are not conformists and we are going to seek the final and we are going to try to win it under all possible circumstances. I am convinced that we are going to play the final.”
The last time Cruz Azul and Pumas UNAM faced off was on early November in a match that saw Pumas come from behind to win, 2-1. Juan Ignacio Dinenno hit both of Pumas’ goals in the final minutes, two gorgeous headers that found the net in the 86th and 90th minutes. Orbelin Pineda scored the lone goal for Cruz Azul in the loss.
For Cruz Azul, it will be its first time back in the semifinals since Apertura 2018. The winner of this one will face the winner of the Chivas vs Leon matchup.
Here’s a look at the predicted starting lineups for each squad:
Pumas: Alfredo Talavera or Julio González, Alan Mozo, Johan Vásquez, Nicolás Freire, Alejandro Mayorga, Carlos Gutiérrez, Erik Lira, Juan Pablo Vigón, Facundo Waller, Juan Ignacio, Dinenno and Carlos González.
Cruz Azul: Jesús Corona, Pablo Aguilar, Adrián Aldrete, Julio César Domínguez, Juan Escobar, Luís Romo, Elías Hernández, Rafael Baca, José Rivero, Roberto Alvarado and Jonathan Rodríguez.