Officially, we're almost a month into spring. But wintry weather conditions are again expected at BMO Field on Tuesday night when Toronto FC host Chivas de Guadalajara (8:15 pm ET | TSN2 in Canada; UDN, go90.com) in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League final.
The BMO Field gruonds crew has successfully cleared snow from the most recent belated winter storm.
Still, temperatures are expected to hover just above freezing for most of the evening Tuesday, with 20 mph sustained winds gusting up to 40 mph, according to a Canadian government forecast. There is also a low chance of flurries throughout the evening. The forecast form weather.com is below.
That should hearten TFC, who have played several huge matches in similar conditions over the last several months. But Chivas coach Matias Almeyda says his team are prepared.
“The weather is not easy to adapt when you’re used to another type of weather,” Almeyda said at his team's pre-match press conference. “In Guadalajara we have perfect weather. And the cold can be felt. But we know our players are hot-blooded. And so we’re not worried about the weather. What I’m worried about is how the team plays. [Toronto FC] are used to it, but the game is 11v11. It’s a final.”
Temperatures for the first leg of Toronto's semifinal against Club America were in a similar range on April 3 were in a similar range, as they were back on March 7 when the Reds played the first leg of their quarterfinal against Tigres UANL. TFC's first leg against Colorado in the Round of 16 would have been the coldest match in MLS history had it been a league match.
