Thanks to some impressive performances last week, UANL Tigres and Cruz Azul have established themselves among the favorites for the 2011 Mexican Clausura title. Though the Clausura’s Liguilla is almost always unpredictable, it would seem unwise to bet against either one of these teams at the moment. Tigres were wildly impressive - especially in the first half - in their win over Santos Laguna last week, while Cruz Azul coasted to a nice win over Jaguares de Chiapas.
Mexican Primera Division, 2011 Clausura, Round 6: Cruz Azul And UANL Tigres Face Off To Determine Early Favorites, Live Coverage
Both of these teams look like good candidates for the top seed in Liguilla, so while these teams aren’t in the same group, there is a lot of playoff positioning on the line in this match.
Cruz Azul’s team selection is fairly cut and dry, with some players occasionally getting swapped out for isolated fitness or tactical concerns, while Tigres have to be a little more creative with they way they pick their team. Thus far, they have looked good with new signings Danilinho and Jonathan Bornstein playing in new positions. Danilinho has moved from attacking central midfield to the wing, while Bornstein, normally a left sided attacking fullback or two-way winger, has moved into a holding central midfield role with some freedom to roam left to keep width when Damian Alvarez cuts inside.
The weekend’s action kicks off on Friday night with Necaxa vs. Club America. While Necaxa’s campaign to attempt to stay up seems all but over, they can still play the role of spoiler. America are hardly a guarantee for a Liguilla place, although they have won three straight games after an awful start to the season. America also starts Copa Libertadores action this week, kicking off their campaign in that tournament with a tough game against Nacional of Uruguay.
This week’s other can’t miss games in Mexico include Monterrey vs. Jaguares de Chiapas in one of the early Saturday matches at 6 pm ET, Santos Laguna vs Atlas late on Saturday at 10 pm ET, and UNAM Pumas against Chivas Guadalajara on Sunday afternoon at 1 pm ET.
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