The month of February has arrived, and with that comes a monumental showdown between Sporting Kansas City and Deportivo Toluca FC in the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Round of 16. Sporting KC will host the first leg at Children’s Mercy Park on Thursday before traveling to Mexico for the decisive second leg on Feb. 28. Tickets to the contest at Children’s Mercy Park are now on sale at SeatGeek.com as Sporting hosts its earliest competitive match in club history.
In the 20 days leading up to Feb. 21, SportingKC.com is rattling off a 20-day Champions League Countdown, hitting all the relevant storylines surrounding the two-legged fixture. From history and geography lessons to number crunching, player matchups and coaching backgrounds, this daily series sets the stage for a pivotal battle in which two successful sides aim to take their first steps toward Champions League glory.
In last Thursday's edition of the Champions League Countdown, we identified five takeaways from Sporting's unbeaten preseason campaign. This time around, and with just three days left until this highly anticipated fixture finally arrives, we do the exact same for Deportivo Toluca FC.
Sporting fans were ruing their luck when Manager Peter Vermes' side was paired with Toluca in the tournament draw last December, but recent results suggest Sporting are catching los Diablos Rojos at just the right time. Here are five takeaways from Toluca's 2019 Liga MX clausura campaign thus far.
1. Crisis Mode
Toluca began the 2019 Clausura brightly, posting a pair of multi-goal wins to go top of the table after Week 2. The club has spiraled downward since then, going 0-4-1 in their last five games with just a single goal scored. Manager Hernan Cristante’s men now occupy 15th place in the standings and face a real danger of missing the Liga MX playoffs for the first time since the 2016 Clausura, which was Cristante’s first season in charge.
2. Waiting to Jell
Toluca’s key signings this winter have yet to make a significant impact, giving reason to believe Cristante simply needs more time with his current squad for the team to start jelling. Argentine forward Emmanuel Gigliotti had scored 12 goals in final 15 games for Independiente but has yet to find the back of the net since moving to Mexico. Midfielders Felipe Pardo and Federico Mancuello have yet to hit full stride, and although center back Jonatan Maidana has slotted straight into the starting 11, he has zero clean sheets to show from his four starts.
3. Road Woes
Since winning their Liga MX opener at Morelia by a 3-1 scoreline on Jan. 4, Toluca have been outscored 6-0 with three straight defeats away from home. That includes shutout losses at Guadalajara, Tijuana and Leon. If Sporting KC can secure a victory while keeping los Diablos Rojos off the scoreboard at Children’s Mercy Park, they will certainly fancy their chances of advancing in the series.
4. The Injury Bug
Midfielder William da Silva and winger Alexis Canelo, two integral pieces of Toluca’s roster, are doubts for the Champions League series with leg injuries. Canelo has missed the last three weeks with a fibula injury, while William was forced off with an apparent knee issue in a 1-1 home draw versus Cruz Azul on Feb. 10. These absences haven’t gone unnoticed, as Toluca were ripped to shreds in a 3-0 loss at Leon on Saturday.
5. A Bit Unlucky
Struggles have piled up for Cristante’s team, but an element of bad luck could be at play, too. Toluca have had multiple goals disallowed after VAR reviews this season, including one in the 59th minute of Saturday’s loss at Leon. Gigliotti was ruled narrowly offside with the game still tied at 0-0. Had los Diablos Rojos taken the lead, the entire outcome of the match may have been different. Instead, Antonio Rios was sent off seven minutes later and Toluca wound up hemorrhaging three late goals.
