The Quarterfinal Round of the CONCACAF Champions League resumes tonight with a pair of second leg matches featuring league foes squaring off against one another. In the first game at 8:00 pm ET (Telemundo), Mexican powers and regular CCL contenders Santos Laguna and Cruz Azul square off (preview) with Cruz Azul holding a 2-0 advantage from its home leg. It is followed at 10:00 pm ET (FSC) by the Major League Soccer showdown (preview) of the Columbus Crew visiting Real Salt Lake level after a scoreless draw in Ohio last Tuesday.
The tournament continues with one series each of the next two nights.
The winners of Tuesday's Mexican series will meet up with the other all-Mexican quarterfinal series which wraps up Wednesday when Toluca visits Monterrey, the lone club to win on the road (1-0) a week ago. The match (preview) is at 8:00 pm ET on Telemundo.
The draw resulting in all four Mexican clubs in one half of the bracket ensures that only one Mexican club will be in the Champions League Final Series for the first time after two all-Mexican affairs in the previous two editions of the new Champions League format.
In the other half of the bracket, one of three nations/leagues vying for a debut in the final series are Costa Rica, Honduras and the United States/Major League Soccer. The winners of the MLS series will play the winner of the final quarterfinal series that concludes Thursday evening. Saprissa of Costa Rica takes a 1-0 lead to Honduras to face Olimpia. The game is at 8:00 pm ET and can be seen on CONCACAF's site. It is free to view following registration.
The turnaround for the Semifinals is nearly immediate as the First Leg is slated for March 15. The Second Leg, however, is nearly a month later on April 5. The Championship series is April 19 and 26.
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