Santa Fe hosts Fortaleza at El Campin looking to make it three straight in Liga BetPlay

Beating Millonarios in the derby with a gritty 3-2 leaves a mark. And Santa Fe wants that mark to show up in the standings too. On Saturday, September 5, at 6:25 p.m., Estadio El Campin hosts Fortaleza for matchday 9 of Liga BetPlay, with live coverage on WIN.

The stat that has Cardenal fans most excited is simple: five games without a loss. Santa Fe sits ninth with nine points, and a win over Fortaleza would put the team right into the group of qualifiers. That's no small thing for a side that lately seems to thrive on adversity: three times in a row it fell behind on the scoreboard, and three times in a row it found a way to turn the result around. The Millonarios game was the clearest example, that 3-2 that also gave Santa Fe the upper hand in the latest capital derby.

Coach Pablo Repetto focused more on the soccer his team showed than on the result itself:

Truth is it was an open game. Derbies tend to be tighter, but it was important that the referee let it flow. That's how international matches are played, that was key.Pablo Repetto

And on the level his team showed over the 90 minutes, he was just as direct:

The win was deserved, a fair result in line with what those 90 minutes were.Pablo Repetto

Fagundez on a scoring streak

There's one name behind this run of form: Franco Fagundez. The Uruguayan forward scored against Millonarios and now has 10 goals this season in the Cardenal shirt, a tally that makes him the offensive reference point for Repetto's team.

Even so, the match against Fortaleza won't be a full celebration in the stands. Santa Fe is back at home, but it will play behind closed doors due to the sanction imposed after incidents involving a section of its fans in the match against America. An odd setup for a team that had been counting on the boost from its crowd.

Fortaleza looks to end its drought

On the other side comes a Fortaleza side in urgent need of results. The team is winless in its last three matches and sits 14th with six points, far from the zone it's aiming for. In its away trip to face Once Caldas in Techo, the team produced a notable moment with a long range golazo from Sebastian Navarro, though it wasn't enough to secure all three points.

The most recent meeting between the two sides points to a certain balance: they drew 1-1 on February 7, 2026, with goals from Jhonier Salas and Nahuel Bustos. Now, with Santa Fe also keeping an eye on its Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal clash with Vasco da Gama, Saturday's match at El Campin promises to be a demanding test of just how far this unbeaten run can go.