Mexican Primera, Apertura Round 16, Saturday Previews: Chivas-Cruz-Azul, San Luis-Santos Highlight Action

San Luis versus Santos Laguna

Saturday, 7 pm ET. TV: Telefutura

After their big away win over Toluca, San Luis will be coming into their match against Santos with plenty of confidence. Confidence may not be enough, though, against the top end talent of Santos. They were disappointed to draw last week’s match with Chivas, but don’t expect them to string together consecutive bad performances.

Michael Arroyo scored a brace last week for San Luis, becoming the team’s top scorer with five goals. San Luis have been characterized by their team play this year, not by a couple of starts, with six players recording multiple goals. Santos are a completely different story, with Cristian Benitez scoring 13 goals, or half of his team’s total output. San Luis are going to struggle to contain him. Santos should bounce back this week, but San Luis have defied the odds over and over again to win games they shouldn’t.

Jaguares de Chiapas versus Atlas

Saturday, 7 pm ET. TV: Azteca America, Fox Sports en Español

Jaguares failed to score last week against Tigres in disappointing fashion, but didn’t hurt their Liguilla chances thanks to their rivals’ failures to win. Don’t expect the trio of Jackson Martinez, Danilinho, and Carlos Ochoa to stay scoreless for a second straight week against a below average Atlas side. It would be extremely surprising to see Jaguares fail to get all three points.

Pachuca versus Quaretaro

Saturday, 9 pm ET. TV: Telefutura

Incredibly, Quaretaro are in both a relegation battle and a fight for Liguilla places. Pachuca have them bested on talent, but if they lost today, Quaretaro wouldn’t be the first less talented team to take all three points from the Tuzos. Pachuca are perfectly capable of scoring three or more goals and beating Quaretaro easily, but they just haven’t looked that interested in a lot of their games. Their performance against Atlas last week was respectable, but their performance against Jaguares was terrible. Quaretaro have been similar this season, putting in plenty of great and awful performances. Predicting the outcome of this match is a fairly pointless exercise, but we’ll try anyway.

Tigres de la U.A.N.L. versus Monarcas Morelia

Saturday, 9 pm ET

Morelia are in relative no man’s land, but haven’t been mathematically eliminated from the Liguilla yet and will probably give Tigres a fight. Currently sitting in sixth place, Tigres will want to solidify their Liguilla credentials with a home win. Morelia striker Miguel Sabah will need to be on his game. His lack of goals has been the driving factor in Morelia’s struggles, as they only have 13 goals as a team. Tigres, on the other hand, are not reliant on one player and have five players who have scored three goals or more. They should be considered favorites at home against a struggling Morelia side.

Chivas de Guadalajara versus Cruz Azul

Saturday, 9 pm ET. TV: Telemundo

I’m usually very objective here, but I’m going to be a fan for once. Can I be a fan? Okay. If we lose to a team with 13 goals, I’m going to vomit all over my computer. Cruz Azul can virtually clinch the top seed in the Liguilla with a win tonight, which could be very important looking at the table. It’s very possible that the team who gets the last Liguilla place could be a very poor team.

Somehow, Omar Arellano of all people got an equalizer in the 89th minute against Santos last week. It was his first goal of a nightmare tournament. If he can start to get hot, Chivas will have a lot more to look forward to in the Clasura. In today’s game, it’s hard to believe that Chivas will be able to outscore Cruz Azul, a team that has six multiple goal scorers and three five goal scorers. Chaco Gimenez will be Cruz Azul’s key man, but Chivas should ignore other players at their peril.

Atlante versus Club America

Saturday, 11 pm ET. TV: Telemundo

Atlante are likely to find themselves even deeper in a relegation battle after tonight, with Club America looking like they’re finding some decent form. Their 4-1 shellacking of Tecos wasn’t terribly surprising, but it was still impressive. Atlante’s did well to beat Necaxa last week, but America is a whole other animal.

America aren’t chasing a Liguilla place, but rather a Copa Libertadores place. With Cruz Azul, Santos, and Monterrey all still alive in CONCACAF Champions League, the teams currently placed fourth through sixth will take their places in Copa. America only need one point in their next two games to make the Liguilla, but a win could take them to Copa.

Predictions

San Luis 1, Santos 2

Jaguares 2, Atlas 0

Pachuca 2, Quaretaro 2

Tigres 1, Morelia 0

Chivas 0, Cruz Azul 1

Atlante 0, Club America 2