The two biggest surprises of the first week of the 2011 Mexican Primera Clausura season saw Mexican giants Club America and Monterrey stumble in games where they were favored. Both teams had great 2010 Apertura campaigns and were expected to make Liguilla comfortably this season, despite sitting on their current squads while their rivals were active in the transfer market.
Mexican Primera, 2011 Clausura, Round 2: Club America, Monterrey Look To Avoid Digging Massive Holes
Overreacting after one game is silly, obviously, but it was pretty incredible how inept Monterrey and America looked for parts of their matches. These are not new teams that need time to gel, but squads with very talented players that have been playing together for years. Of all teams, they would have been among the least expected to come out rusty. Last week, they both faced fringe Liguilla contenders, but this week, they face completely different opponents. Monterrey is gifted a chance to get back on track against Estudiantes Tecos, while America has a much tougher test, as they travel to Chiapas to take on Jaguares.
That match between Jaguares de Chiapas and America takes place on Saturday evening, and Jaguares will be looking to build off of their week one win over a re-tooled Necaxa side. They didn’t look terribly impressive in their win, but an away win to start the season after a small exodus of talent is nothing to sneeze at. They should be feeling better about themselves than America are after a loss to Pachuca at Estadio Azteca, and that alone makes them dangerous.
Monterrey’s rebound attempt against Tecos happens tonight at 9 pm ET. Tecos were atrocious in their first match, continuing off of their terrible Apertura campaign. Their defense does not appear to have improved at all as they gave up four goals against Cruz Azul. As poor as Monterrey were in the second half of their match against San Luis, it would be very surprising to see them fail to defeat Tecos by multiple goals.
We’ll have live coverage of that match tonight, hopefully with accurate lineups before kickoff. The internets have been letting us down with those lately.
Matches, Predictions, and Television Schedules
Estudiantes Tecos vs. Monterrey (Prediction - 0-3): Friday, 9pm ET, Galavision
Jaguares de Chiapas vs. Club America (Prediction - 1-1): Saturday, 6 pm, Azteca America and ESPN Deportes
San Luis vs. Puebla (Prediction - 1-0): Saturday, 6 pm, Univision
Pachuca vs. Toluca (Prediction - 3-2): Saturday, 8 pm, Telefutura
Tigres de la UANL vs. Necaxa (Prediction - 3-1): Saturday, 8 pm, Telemundo
Atlas vs. Queretaro (Prediction - 2-0): Saturday, 9:45 pm, Galavision
Atlante vs. Cruz Azul (Prediction - 1-3): Saturday, 10 pm, Telefutura
Monarcas Morelia vs. Chivas de Guadalajara (Prediction - 0-1): Sunday, 1 pm, Fox Deportes
Pumas de la UNAM vs. Santos Laguna (Prediction - 1-2): Sunday, 1 pm, Telemundo
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