Santa Fe Hosts Tolima Behind Closed Doors in Matchday 10 Clash of Liga BetPlay

Four straight days of soccer. That's how matchday 10 of the Liga BetPlay is shaping up, with Dimayor spreading games out from Friday, September 11 through Monday, September 14. There's a bit of everything: a rivalry match with an empty stadium, a leader that waits until the very end to play, and a backlog of postponed games that stretches all the way to late October.

The headline fixture comes early. On Friday at 8:30 p.m., Santa Fe hosts Deportes Tolima at El Campin, but there won't be a single fan in the stands. The Bogota stadium was sanctioned following incidents involving a group of Santa Fe supporters, so that match will be played behind closed doors. Earlier, at 6:15 p.m., Jaguares and Fortaleza open the round at Estadio Jaraguay.

Saturday's action comes in three waves: Internacional-Llaneros at Estadio de Techo (4:05 p.m.), Chico-DIM at La Independencia (6:10 p.m.), and Alianza-Junior at Maestre Pavajeu (8:20 p.m.). Sunday is, without question, the busiest day: Pereira hosts Bucaramanga at 2:00 p.m. at a venue still to be confirmed, Nacional takes on Aguilas at Atanasio Girardot at 4:05 p.m., Once Caldas and Deportivo Cali square off at Palogrande at 6:10 p.m., and Cucuta Deportivo closes out the day against Millonarios at 8:15 p.m. at General Santander.

The round wraps up on Monday, and not with just any match. Tournament leader America de Cali closes out matchday 10 hosting Deportivo Pasto at Pascual Guerrero, at 8:00 p.m.

Matchday 5's Postponed Games Finally Get Dates

Beyond the regular schedule, Dimayor has also sorted out the pending matches from matchday 5. Two of them will be played almost immediately: Llaneros-Tolima on Sunday, September 7 at Bello Horizonte, and Millonarios-Deportivo Cali on Wednesday, September 10 at El Campin, just one day before matchday 10 kicks off.

The rest of that backlog stretches out much further on the calendar. Not until Tuesday, October 27 and Wednesday, October 28 will Cucuta-Aguilas, Chico-Junior, Once Caldas-Alianza, and Internacional-DIM be played. And the closing batch of those postponed games arrives on Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30, with America-Fortaleza, Nacional-Santa Fe, Pereira-Jaguares, and Bucaramanga-Pasto.

With this outlook, teams will have to manage tight schedules and carry a game or two in their legs, something fairly common when the Colombian tournament mixes regular rounds with backed up fixtures. For now, fans' attention will be fixed on this weekend's action, especially that Santa Fe-Tolima match that will be played without a single fan in the stands.