For the first time since the wildcard weekend prior to the Liga MX playoffs was put in place all of the home teams won. This means that we’re going to have an old-fashioned 2 leg playoff system just with extra steps. Puebla was the only squad that had to go to penalties to earn their spot in the playoffs, and to be fair to them, they should’ve gotten a chance to pull further ahead of Chivas. Can any of the bottom teams in this quarter-finals round upset the higher seeded team?
1 Club America vs 8 Puebla FC
If Puebla FC had proven that they are a solid defensive team they may have a better shot to upset the top seed Club America. When it’s all set and done though, we just feel that Club America has too much offensive firepower, and a better defense. Puebla is not just going to roll over and play dead though. They’re a team that won’t be afraid to compete for possession in the midfield and will look to do some damage to America. Club America should prevail just like they did in their last game of the regular season. These two teams squared off in Puebla, and Club America won 2-1. America should be able to replicate that.
2 Rayados vs 7 Cruz Azul
Some people still don’t want to believe in Cruz Azul. We said coming into the Wild Card round that they were the hottest team in the league besides Club America. At this point the team has been able to find some defensive stability under Raul Gutierrez which they certainly did not have under previous manager Diego Aguirre.
In spite of all of the positives that we could cite in regard to Cruz Azul, Monterrey has been more consistent throughout the season, and at least on paper they have the better roster. When these two teams faced off Monterrey blew Cruz Azul out of the water for the first 20 minutes of the game, but then allowed them to creep back into the match. If Monterrey can keep their foot on the gas they should pull through. However, this is a much better Cruz Azul team than the one they beat!
3 Club Santos vs 6 Toluca
Can we really trust any of these two teams? Toluca needs to find more defensive stability overall before what’s likely to be a Thursday first leg game. Today Juarez got shots off on goal seemingly at will at one point in their matchup. If Toluca is reading their last two wins as outstanding successes they could be in real trouble. Of course winning in a gotta have it game like they did against Juarez is great, but they were lucky defensively. Santos is not going to be as forgiving in front of goal.
For their part Santos is in a situation where if they keep doing what they’re doing they’ll be ok. They are certainly a team that has flown under the radar, in many instances because their games aren’t even on basic cable. You have to think that the opposing coaches are getting the game tape, but it doesn’t look like it. Santos is a balanced team that has found an offensive presence that they really haven’t had in a while.
4 Pachuca vs 5 Tigres
The 4 seed versus the 5 side is on paper always the most evenly matched contest. In this instance it’s clear that Pachuca may be the better team, but Tigres have Gignac, and they have a decent defense. At this point those are the two elements that they’re probably going to want to hand their hat on. Tigres has to be very careful to not get caught flat-footed or coming back on defense against Pachuca. Pachuca is a much more dynamic team, and they’re going to come out and try to walk over Tigres in both games. Miguel Herrera’s best bet may be to play solid defense and rely on counters or a Gignac free kick!
