Liga MX enters match day 7 this weekend and all eyes will be on the capital city as Club America and Cruz Azul square off in El Clasico Joven. We look ahead to that and the other big storylines of this weekend.
Tigres and Queretaro Clash Before Midweek Battles
Queretaro hosts fellow CONCACAF Champions League team Tigres Friday night to kick off the Liga MX action. Tigres are coming off a surprising defeat at home a week ago, while the White Roosters are also coming off a defeat. Both teams will be desperate to get a good result heading into their midweek battles in their CCL quarterfinal matchups. Queretaro has struggled to put games together and even though they’re playing at home, it will be a daunting challenge to take on Tigres. While Tigres aren’t the type of team to put two bad performances in row. Expect Tigres to take all three points and get back on track.
Tijuana Look for Back to Back Wins
After pulling off an upset last week away at Tigres, Tijuana now hopes to repeat their fine performance home against Morelia. The match gives Tijuana the best chance to get their first win at home. While Morelia hasn’t been spectacular, they’ve shown to be a tough opponent who will frustrate teams and battle all 90 minutes. It wouldn’t be surprising for Morelia to do the same Friday and take a point away from the encounter.
Clasico Joven Takes Center Stage
One of Mexico’s biggest rivals are set to meet Saturday afternoon when Club America make the short trip to El Estadio Azul to take on fellow capital club Cruz Azul in the Clasico Joven. After a slow start to the season, Cruz Azul find themselves in sixth position and only two points behind America in the standings. America at times have struggled against strong teams including a 4-1 defeat to Pachuca, and a 0-0 draw against a stubborn Puebla. While America have as much talent as any team in the league, they can easily grow frustrated and at times show desperation if things don’t go their way. Expect a high intensity match with the potential of fireworks at any moment.
Monterrey Seeks to Keep Winning
The Liga MX league leaders return home Saturday to host a struggling Veracruz who’s one of three teams who’s yet to taste victory so far this season. While Veracruz has had their moments this season, they don’t look like a team who can go into Monterrey and take away a draw, let alone a win. Monterrey is playing with the type of confidence and flair that any neutral can enjoy. Monterrey has the second best goal differential in the league and dominate on all parts on the field. They should continue their fine form come Saturday.
Something’s Got to Give
Leon host Toluca in a match of contrasting results. Leon are one of three teams who’s yet to draw so far this season. While Toluca has tied four of its first six matches, which is equal with two other teams for the most at this point in the season. While Toluca are starting to make a habit of giving up leads which has led to those draws, Leon has found a way to find results and come away with wins. It’s starting to look like Leon has found the rhythm they had early in the year, and playing at home Leon look like favorites to take the three points.
Can Pachuca Be Slowed Down?
While Monterrey lead the league, sitting just one point behind them is Pachuca who lead the league in goals scored, goals allowed, and goal difference. Pachuca plays with some of the most attack minded and forward thinking soccer the league has seen in some time. Their willingness to play such an aggressive style has been only matched by the improvement on the defensive end. Now Atlas has the job of trying to stop them at home. While Atlas have struggled this year, and there’s a possibility of Pachuca running away with the match, last week saw Atlas show the type of fight that gives you hope of a possible upset come Saturday. Still, if Atlas are able to take a point at home, it would be seen as a major upset.
Bottom of the Table Battle
Saturday night sees two teams desperate for a result as Chiapas host Chivas. The two teams sit third from the bottom and second from the bottom in the league standings, with both teams only managing four points each. If that wasn’t bad enough, Chivas are still looking for their first victory of the season as things have looked grim for Chivas. The layers for this game go deeper than just the two teams as it also pins Ricardo La Volpe coaching against Chivas, and owner Jorge Vergara. The distain between the two is well known, with the most recent involved Vergara using his power to halt La Volpe from taking over the Mexican National Team coaching post last fall. Something the Argentine-Mexican has not soon forgotten.
Mid Table Battle
Sunday starts off with Pumas hosting Santos as the two teams sit only a point apart, with the visitors sitting in eighth while Pumas are tenth. While Pumas haven’t looked like the team that was in the finals last season, they look to take advantage of a team who’s dropped two in a row and will have a midweek battle. Santos will look to get a positive result before their midweek CCL battle to build a little momentum. This match can really go either way and can say a lot about both teams at this point into the season and whether they can hang around with the higher ups of Liga MX.
Dorados Desperate for Anything
The weekend closes with last place Dorados traveling to Puebla for a Sunday afternoon showdown. Dorados finally were able to score twice last week, something they had yet to do in the five games prior to that much, but still found themselves on the losing end. They’ve yet to gain a point this season and look doomed for relegation. While Puebla aren’t the cream of the crop of the league, they’ve earned a respectable eight points out of their first six matches and have shown the ability to beat the teams they’re supposed to and get the needed results. Puebla should be disciplined enough to not look ahead of this match and get a win over Dorados.