Liga de Quito goes into Saturday’s meeting with Macará looking for an immediate response to two straight defeats, and coach Gustavo Álvarez said the target is plain: break the losing run. The match is set for October 24 at 16:30 at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium, a fixture that arrives with points and pressure attached.
The timing explains why the search interest has sharpened. Liga de Quito hosts Macará in the fourth date of Liga Ecuabet 2026, with the visitors second on 60 points and Liga de Quito third on 53. That gap makes the game more than another league date for a team that needs three points to draw closer in the standings and keep its title hexagonal chase on track.
Álvarez framed the game as one chapter in a longer rivalry, saying past meetings are a reference point but not a script, because each match brings a different present. What matters now is that Liga de Quito can still turn the page at home, and it has enough of its squad available to try. Deyverson has already served his suspension, and the rest of the group is ready for Macará.
José Quintero is the one name still watched most closely inside the squad. He is progressing well in recovery and has already returned to field work, but he is not yet training with the full group. That leaves his comeback short of complete team integration, even if the signs are better than they were before.
The match also carries a restriction that will be felt in the stands. The general south lower stand at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium will be closed because of a disciplinary sanction from Liga Pro, tied to the throwing of a lit flare onto the field in the partido ante Aucas. Álvarez thanked the supporters for their backing while acknowledging that rules must be respected, a reminder that Liga de Quito is trying to solve a sporting problem on a night when part of its own house will be empty.
At 16:30 on Saturday, the question is not whether Liga de Quito can wait for a cleaner moment. It has to answer now, without one stand and without Quintero fully back in the group, if it wants to cut into Macará’s lead instead of letting the gap open further.
