Toronto FC is back in Mexico for the second time in a month, once again heading into a second leg of a CONCACAF Champions League series with a result in its favour.

After disposing of Tigres UANL in the quarterfinals, the Reds will travel to Mexico City to face Liga MX’s Club America. A 3-1 lead puts Toronto firmly in the driver’s seat, but it can’t afford to relent come Tuesday night’s deciding match in Mexico City (TSN1/TSN4, 10 p.m. EDT).

“We’re coming here to play, to be aggressive,” captain Michael Bradley told reporters in Mexico last weekend. “We want to score, we want to go after the game and finish things off. It’s a good team, it’s a team that if you sit back and if you let them have the ball and dictate how things go then it can be a long 90 minutes.”

The battles between Liga MX and Major League Soccer sides in this tournament have overwhelmingly finished in favour of the Mexican teams, but the Reds’ recent success over their neighbours from south of the border has some questioning how the two leagues compare today.

Bradley is far too focused on the specifics of Tuesday night to look at the big picture.

“When we step on the field, the mentality and the goal is to lift this trophy,” he said. “It’s not to prove to anybody that MLS is better than Liga MX.”

Coach Greg Vanney agrees: “I think we’re a very good team in this and we have a good chance of trying to win. That’s why we’re here. We’re not here to just participate, we’re here to try to win.”

With concentration firmly on the next 90 minutes, here is what you need to know about Toronto FC versus Club America.

LAST TIME OUT: Goals from Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Ashtone Morgan put Toronto ahead in the series at BMO Field last Tuesday, though Club America head coach Miguel Herrera spoke of his team’s weighty away goal as a silver lining on an otherwise forgettable night for the visitors. A scuffle between the two teams in the tunnel at halftime dominated headlines; both clubs were subsequently fined by CONCACAF. Toronto postponed its MLS game against DC United over the weekend to focus on the Champions League, but Club America played, tying Club Necaxa 1-1 in a league match.

ALTITUDE AWARNESS: The Reds travelled to Pachuca, Mexico last Thursday to get used to the altitude; the city sits about 2,400 metres above sea level, slightly higher than Mexico City. The game will take place at the largest stadium in Mexico — Azteca — which will certainly provide an unfriendly atmosphere.

THIN LINE: Bradley, Altidore, Giovinco and Jonathan Osorio all enter the game with bookings, meaning they’re each one yellow card away from a one-game suspension should Toronto advance.

HURTING: Toronto will be without Nick Hagglund (hamstring); Victor Vazquez (back), Chris Mavinga (abdomen) and Justin Morrow (calf) all missed last week’s match. Club America could be without midfielder Cecilio Dominguez, who was injured in the team’s league game over the weekend.

FORWARD THINKING: The winner will play the winner of a semifinal between MLS’ New York Red Bulls and Liga MX’s CD Guadalajara. The Red Bulls are trailing 1-0 heading into the second leg, which will be played at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

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