MIAMI, Florida – Liga MX side Tigres will be seeking to continue their unbeaten run in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League when they host Motagua of Honduras in the return leg of the 2023 SCCL quarterfinals on Thursday night at the Estadio Universitario in San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico.
The Felinos are unbeaten in their last eight SCCL matches, with six wins and two draws and another positive result would be enough to send them to the semifinals following their 1-0 first leg win in Honduras.
Tigres have also posted a pair of clean sheet wins in their last two matches against Honduran opponents, with a 3-0 win versus Olimpia in the 2020 semifinals followed by last week’s victory at Motagua.
The all-time history between Liga MX and Honduran clubs in the SCCL also favors Tigres, with 25 wins for the Mexican sides, nine for the Honduran clubs and eight draws.
Luis Quinones continues to display some of his best football on Concacaf nights after tallying the Tigres goal last week. The Colombian has four career assists in the SCCL quarterfinals on top of two goals.
Meanwhile, even though he is yet to score in the current SCCL, FW Andre-Pierre Gignac can always be considered a threat with 14 career SCCL goals.
Getting a big result in Mexico is something that Motagua have already accomplished in the 2023 SCCL. In the Round of 16 the Catracho club earned a 1-1 draw at Pachuca, which was enough to advance to the final eight.
This time around, they will require a victory in order to have at least a chance to advance and snap their streak of 10 SCCL matches without a victory.
Motagua will have to be on their toes defensively, so the likes of Juan Delgado and Marcelo Pereira will be important. Delgado completed 36 passes in the first leg and had six ball recoveries, while Pereira’s experience and wisdom will be critical on the back line. Pereira will also become Motagua’s all-time SCCL appearances leader with 10 games when he suits up on Thursday.
Up top, all eyes will be on Eddie Hernandez, who scored the series-winning goal against Pachuca. Hernandez also leads the side in shots taken in the tournament with six.
Game Notes, Stats Tigres UANL vs FC Motagua
Match Officials:
Referee: Walter Lopez (GUA)
AR1: Luis Ventura (GUA) AR2 Humberto Panjoj (GUA)
4th Official: Bryan Lopez (GUA)
VAR: Edwin Jurisevic (USA)
AVAR1: Pierre-Luc Lauziere (CAN)
