The LigaMX playoffs are going to be kicking off Wednesday with potentially the highest profile matchups of the round between Club America, and Puebla, as well Cruz Azul versus Monterrey. This is essentially the last round of the LigaMX playoffs in which we’ll have the chance to pick more games, and not have to play all our cards on just a few matchups. We are sure that you know by now, but just to make it clear these picks are going to be for the first leg of the games. The team that wins this game won’t necessarily be the one to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
Puebla vs Club America – Hoping For The Tie
We hate the numbers that we’re getting here there’s no reason to sugarcoat it! There was some hope that we’d get a more favorable number for Club America on the road at Puebla. Currently, though, Club America is a -110 favorite on the road. With that in mind, and taking into account that these playoff games tend to get really tight it may be a good idea to go for the tie here. We do like that number which is +275. If the game comes in tied to the final minutes both teams may just ease up and take that result into the next game.
Cruz Azul vs Monterrey – Like Cruz Azul’s Number At Home, But A Draw Seems More Likely
This is a number that we feel is being put in place to bait Cruz Azul supporters to take their team’s win at home. We said last week that oddsmakers don’t necessarily have a ton of faith in Cruz Azul even though they are the hottest team in Liga MX besides America. The +200 number for their win at home looks real juicy. Ultimately though we’re going to pass on it and leave it for the real die hard Cruz Azul supporters. The reason we’ll leave it alone is actually because we really like the +240 on the tie. These first leg games are usually really tight, no one wants to play themselves out of the series in the first game. Watch out for the ties in these midweek matchups.
Toluca vs Santos – Gotta Like Santos’ Number On The Road
Santos is a team that flies under the radar in Mexico a lot because it’s a team that has virtually no national following, and their games are never on national TV. So that means that only a few nuts have actually watched the team play. Sure Toluca is coming off a couple of wins, but the +170 number for Santos on the road is one that we really like. Toluca was bad defensively against Juarez. They scored goals in key moments that allowed them to pull through, but a more efficient team offensively could’ve bounced them out in the Wild Card round. We expect Santos to be much better offensively than what we saw from Juarez. That will allow them to pull out the win on the road.
Tigres vs Pachuca – Tigres Finds A Way To Pull One Out
If we came out and said that out of all of the teams in LigaMX Pachuca is the one that plays better football, there’d be very few arguments to counter that statement. Club America certainly may be more effective, but Pachuca has a very clear sense of what they want to do every single time that they step on the pitch.
Why then would we pick Tigres to pull one out here? We like the +115 number that Tigres is getting at home, and maybe we’re also still mesmerized by that Gignac free kick from over the weekend. Whatever happens this matchup may be the most entertaining one of the week!
