Soccer showdown: Alajuelense host Saprissa in Winter Tournament final tonight

La Liga Deportiva Alajuelense will host Deportivo Saprissa tonight in the first of the two-part Winter Tournament final in another chapter of the Costa Rican soccer classic between the country´s two most dominant club teams.

La Liga, led by the Argentine Marcelo Hugo Herrera, will look to make the most of the home field advantage and to shed once and for all the albatross of 20 consecutive games against Saprissa without a win.

On the other side of the turf, Head Coach Jeaustin Campos is focused on a fifth consecutive title for Saprissa, the 28th in the club´s history, and will be playing all his best players.

The “Purple Monster” will hope to close the matter on Saturday when it hosts La Liga at Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in Tibás in northern San José in the second leg of the two-part finals.

La Liga is riding a high after qualifying for the final with a come-from-behind in the semifinal against San Carlos, while the morados, who led throughout much of the tournament, glided into the final after beating Pérez Zeledón in their semifinal.

Saprissa is the most successful team in the league´s history. Alajuela, with 24 titles, is the second most victorious squad.

The match will kick off at 8 p.m. at the Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium in Alajuela, northwest of the capital.