The 2018 Liga MX Apertura Liguilla is officially underway in México, and in one of the most intriguing matchups of the quarterfinals stage, Deportivo Toluca takes on Las Águilas del América at the Estadio Nemesio Diez.
With the first leg being played at Toluca’s home ground, the Diablos Rojos will hope to gain a healthy advantage ahead of the second leg at the Estadio Azteca. Toluca arrives to this match having finished the regular season as the seventh seed and comes into this game having lost its last encounter 2-0 to Lobos BUAP.
Meanwhile, Club América comes into this Liguilla hot after thumping Veracruz 4-1 while resting several of its starters. Though they were far from brilliant, Las Águilas did just enough to finish the regular season in second and as one of the genuine favorites to win the Liga MX title.
- Away from home, Club América has gone five straight Liga MX games without a defeat.
- The OVER has hit in three of Toluca’s last four Liga MX home matches.
- Club América has just one defeat in its last five visits to Toluca.
Toluca vs Club América Game Center
América is the team with more momentum
For starters, you have to ask yourself who comes into this Liguilla in better shape? It is a cliché, I know, but momentum can mean everything in the Liguilla.
Toluca is one of those teams that has been fading in recent weeks. Hernan Cristante’s men were at one point among the most consistent teams in the tournament, but lately, they’ve looked out of tune and even ran the risk of missing out on the Liguilla completely in the final week of the regular season. Toluca arrives to this game with consecutive defeats to their name and have just one win in their last five Liga MX matches.
The good news for Toluca is Club America has just one win in its last four Liga MX matches. The bad news is Las Águilas also haven’t lost. In total, Club America has gone unbeaten in its last 11 Liga MX matches, its last Liga MX defeat coming during Week 6 against Club León.
Keeping a clean sheet at home is hard for Toluca
As ever, when it comes to these two-legged ties, it is imperative the home side gets on the scoresheet and obtains some sort of advantage to carry into the second leg. Moreover, with the away goal being a factor, keeping Club América from scoring is just as important for the Diablos Rojos.
Unfortunately for Toluca, they’ve had lots of problems keeping a clean sheet at home across the regular season. In fact, Toluca has conceded in five of its last six Liga MX matches at the Estadio Nemesio Diez. Coincidentally, they kept a clean sheet in only three home matches this season, and only one of those was against a Liguilla team, Querétaro.
Goals galore between these two teams
Let’s talk about goals. If there is one thing that has categorized these two teams across the last few years, it is definitely goals. Four of the last five meetings between these two teams have hit the OVER, as well as eight of the last 10.
Furthermore, these teams have faced each other several times in the Liguilla. Since 1996, Diablos Rojos and Águilas have faced off five times in the playoffs. In the corresponding leg played at the Estadio Nemesio Diez, the OVER has hit four of those five times.
It's also worth mentioning that Club América finished the regular season as the league’s highest-scoring team with 33 goals scored in 17 matches.
My pick...
One of Club América’s most famous Liguilla victories came at the home of the Diablos Rojos when they earned a 4-2 victory at the Estadio Nemesio Diez, in the quarterfinals of the Invierno 2000 tournament. While I don’t think América will win with such an emphatic scoreline again, I do think they will have enough to at least run away from this one with the victory.
Related News
