D1 - Football - Mexico - Liga MX

Tigres U. A. N. L.
Tigres U. A. N. L. make history at FIFA Club World Cup last week as they are the first team fom CONCACAF to reached the Final and achieve a second place in the tournament. Tigres U. A. N. L. lost the final 1-0 against european giant Bayern Munich, a lone goal from a controversial play. Tigres U. A. N. L. play using their strong points, a solid defending and quick counterattack that got them there, and pushed until the final minutes but was unable to score. The star of the team, Andre-Pierre Gignac was awarded the adidas Silver Ball, the top scorer's prize and a Match Award.

Now back in Mexico, Tigres U. A. N. L. resumes Liga MX against Cruz Azul at their stronghold, "Volcan" Universtario de Nuevo Leon. At home, Tigres U. A. N. L. has an ongoing streak of five matches without defeat, the last one to claim three points here has been tonight's rival, Cruz Azul. An ongoing streak of 21 matches scoring at home.

The elements against Tigres U. A. N. L. here is the long journey to/from Qatar, and the three intense matches played there. Therefore coach "Tuca" Ferreti might rotate the team, as Liga MX is barely in the first third, yet the callup has the star players in it. With the advantage that Francisco Venegas has returned to the team.

Cruz Azul
The fallout from last tournament, eliminated in semifinals by Pumas after having a 4-0 lead
in the first leg, was continued in the start of this tournament. The arrival of Peruvian coach Juan "Sherrif" Reynoso had a bad start with two consecutive defeats against Santos Laguna and Puebla, in the positive aspect one goal allowed in each match.

Now Cruz Azul has a streak of three consecutive victories, as they have defeated Pachuca, Queretaro and Necaxa, with one goal against in those three matches. A clear improvement in the backzone, but above that an attack that is working with Jonathan Escobar scoring two goals and also a good performance by Jonathan "Cabecita" Rodriguez, after missing the match against Pachuca due to being implicated in a disciplinary issue. A positive streak that provides with sensations to the team.

Match
This will be the 100th match between them, an important mark in this rivalry. Cruz Azul has not lost at Volcan since October 2014, seven matches without victory for Tigres U. A. N. L. From the last five matches here, four of them have seen goals scored from both teams. Therefore, a match clearly characterized by goals. Considering the offensive display both use, expect an attractive match.

Prediction
A high intense match is expected, yet the the cold weather might be a factor to be considered to use a lower stake than usually. The defenses might have their day as both teams have been showing solid recently, yet in this matchup and venue normally goals are scored and there should at least be one from each team. Both posses the attack potential to do it, but also have solid defenses, therefore it might be to close to conform for some, but the values lies on this option.

18/02/2021 02:15, read 217 times