This week is an international break week, but like Major League Soccer, the Mexican Primera has decided to soldier on without its biggest foreign stars.
Mexican Primera Preview, October 8-10: Santos And Monterrey Lose Stars To International Duty
International fixtures haven’t stopped the Mexican Primera from playing this week. Here’s a breakdown of this weekend’s fixtures.
Necaxa versus Puebla
Friday, 9:10 pm Eastern. TV: Azteca America, Fox Sports en Español
Necaxa have experienced two very different matches in their last two weeks, pulling off a great upset against Cruz Azul and getting dominated by Monterrey. The 2-1 score line of their last match is flattering; Monterrey went up 2-0 early and completely hit the brakes. That match was on the road, though, and they are a much different team at home. Puebla pulled off a 2-0 home win last week over Quaretaro, but they are another team who are much better at home than they are on the road. After their bad road losses against Atlas and Jaguares de Chiapas, it’s difficult to predict that they will get any points from Necaxa away.
Jaguares de Chiapas versus Atlante
Saturday, 6 pm Eastern. TV: Azteca America
Last week, Jaguares' hot streak hit a road bump with a disappointing 0-0 draw away to Estudiantes Tecos. Carlos Ochoa has been one of the most precise finishers in Mexico this season, but he missed countless chances against Tecos. Target man Jackson Martinez and No. 10 Danilinho looked dangerous, but ultimately no one could find the back of the net. Jaguares will be without defender Jaime Duran as he was sent off along with Gustavo Cabral of Tecos in a bizarre scuffle on a corner kick. Atlante struggled in a 3-1 loss at home to Pachuca and it seems unlikely they will be able to get a result away to Jaguares. Look for Jaguares to resume their great form.
Quaretaro versus Chivas de Guadalajara
Saturday, 6 pm Eastern. TV: Univision
Quaretaro are the ultimate unpredictable team in the ultimate unpredictable league. It seems irresponsible to say they will "probably" do anything after their 6-0 loss to Morelia and their 5-2 defeat of Santos. What we do know is that Chivas are in atrocious form, so Quaretaro certainly have a decent chance to get three points. Chivas almost lost their Clasico against cross-town rivals Atlas last week, ultimately drawing 2-2, and lost 1-0 at home against Morelia on Wednesday in a Copa Libertadores make-up game. Remarkably, as poor as Chivas are, they sit only two points outside of a Liguilla spot. It's hard to figure out where the goals are going to come from, though. Anything can happen, but Quaretaro should probably (oops, I said it) get at least a point.
Pachuca versus Pumas
Saturday, 8 pm Eastern. TV: Telefutura
Last season, Pumas had one of the best, if not the best, defenses in the league. This year, their defense has been awful. That was, at least until last week, when they recorded an impressive shutout victory over Morelia. That defense will need to be stout this week as it appears that Pachuca's gang of strikers are finally coming into form. Edgar Benitez and Dario Cvitanich are currently on fire, recording a combined five goals in Pachuca's last two games. Herculez Gomez is looking better as well, and Franco Arizala is a dangerous weapon off the bench, even if he has yet to find his scoring touch. The matchup between the Pumas defense and these strikers is the key one in this game. The question is, which Pumas defense shows up?
Tigres versus Estudiantes Tecos
Saturday, 8 pm Eastern. TV: Telemundo
Despite an impressive draw against Jaguares last week, Tecos are not a great team and should probably struggle against Tigres on the road. Tigres have been playing poorly as of late though; they lost 1-0 to San Luis last week. If Itamar Batista isn’t getting things done in the attack for Tigres, no one is. The good news for him and Tigres is that there should be plenty of holes in the Tecos defense. Jaguares exposed them, they just couldn’t finish. This match could go either way because of the form of the two teams, but it’s hard to pick Tecos to get points from anyone on the road.
Atlas versus San Luis
Saturday, 9:45 pm Eastern. TV: Telemundo
Somehow, Atlas were able to score twice and scrape a point from their rivals Chivas last week. With Atlas’ form before that match and San Luis’ current form, don’t expect that to happen again. San Luis has been a major yo-yo team, going from Copa Libertadores knockout stages to dead last in the table, then back up to Liguilla places. It’s been a team effort for them, with their defense only allowing 10 goals and no one on their team individually scoring more than three. Points two weeks in a row for Atlas would be shocking, expect a San Luis win.
Morelia versus Santos Laguna
Sunday, 1 pm Eastern. TV: Azteca America, ESPN Deportes
Riding the momentum off their road victory against Chivas, Morelia will be looking to get themselves firmly back into the Liguilla places with points at home against Santos Laguna. Santos are one of the best and most talented teams in Mexico, but they will be without the league’s leading scorer Cristian Benitez, as well as forward Carlos Darwin Quintero and central defender Felipe Baloy. Without question, those three players are three of the key pieces for Santos and their absence will make life much easier for Morelia. Fernando Arce, Jose Cardenas, and Daniel Ludueña are all available, though, and will provide more than enough firepower to keep this from being a walkover. Morelia’s best striker Miguel Sabah is ice cold right now and will likely need to find his form for Morelia to have a shot at taking all three points.
Toluca versus Cruz Azul
Sunday, 1 pm Eastern. TV: Telemundo
With neither of these teams missing their superstars for the international break, this promises to be the best match up of the week. Last week, the Red Devils of Toluca were easily defeated 2-0 by Santos as stars Zinha and Hector Raul Mancilla were completely removed from the game by Santos. The back line of Cruz Azul isn’t quite as prolific, so those players should have more of a presence this week. The biggest question in this match is whether or not Toluca’s defense will be able to handle in-form attackers Christian “Chaco” Gimenez, Emanuel Villa, and Javier Orozco. Cruz Azul certainly have the talent to defeat Toluca, but their form away from Estadio Azul has been less than scintillating. Toluca have to like their chances of getting a respectable result.
Club America versus Monterrey
Sunday, 5 pm Eastern. TV: Univision
This match is one that certainly would have been more intriguing if not for the international break. Monterrey will be without Osvaldo Martinez and Walter Ayovi while America will be without Aquivaldo Mosquera. America will also be without Oscar Rojas, but not because of international duty; the Mexican fullback is serving a suspension. Monterrey's losses are big, but Humberto Suazo and Aldo de Nigris are both available for selection and should give serious problems to a seriously crippled America defense. If America hope to get a result, their backups are going to have to step in and play the game of their lives while striker Vicente Vuoso puts in a great performance of his own. He's a good enough player to put a team on his back and win a game by himself, but with two starting defenders out, it's tough to picture a win for America.
Predictions
Necaxa 2, Puebla 0
Quaretaro 1, Chivas 0
Pachuca 2, Pumas 1
Tigres 1, Tecos 0
Atlas 0, San Luis 1
Morelia 1, Santos 1
Toluca 2, Cruz Azul 2
America 1, Monterrey 2
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