Two teams that need a win: Pumas UNAM hosts Chivas Guadalajara

With their season on the line, Chivas Guadalajara travels to Mexico City to take on Pumas UNAM in Week 12 action of the 2019 Liga MX Clausura.

Chivas needs to turn around its season and needs to turn it around fast. After losing back-to-back games to rival Club América, the Rojiblancos are in something of a crisis and sit just outside the playoff zone with only 15 points. Their journey now takes them back to Mexico City, where they will take on a Pumas team that also needs wins to get back in the playoff race. Currently, the Universitarios are 14th in the league standings with 10 points and have gone four straight league games without a win.

Pumas UNAM vs Chivas Guadalajara Game Center

Scoring crisis in Guadalajara

Chivas Guadalajara is in desperate need of a win. Losing consecutive games to Club América has been costly to the team’s morale, and though the ownership has given current coach Jose Saturnino Cardozo their backing, there is the sense that he has completely lost control of the locker room. At the moment, Chivas arrives to this match with just one win in its last seven matches across all competitions, including four defeats.

The big irony with Chivas, of course, is that they are coached by the aforementioned Jose Saturnino Cardozo. As a player, Cardozo was known as one of the most lethal strikers in Mexico, but as a coach, defense has always been his No. 1 priority. His defensive stance has been much criticized by Chivas fans, and looking at the numbers, you can see why. Chivas has been kept scoreless in each of its last four matches across all competitions, three of which ended up in defeat.

Pumas have their eyes set on another prize

In the case of Pumas UNAM, their focus might not be entirely on this match. There seems to be an understanding throughout the club that their best chance at lifting a trophy this semester might be in the Copa MX, where the Universitarios are currently one game away from the final.

Obviously, as Pumas has shifted focus to Copa MX, their results in Liga MX have taken a bit of a  hit, with the exception of their home games. While Pumas has been far from great at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario, they have been typically steady at home, where they have lost just once through the course of the whole Clausura. In fact, their only defeat came against Club León, which has been arguably the best team this season. In total, Pumas have actually drawn five of their last seven Liga MX games at home.

A tough environment for the visitors

Perhaps surprisingly, the last two times these two teams met was in Guadalajara, and Pumas UNAM won both of those matches convincingly. For the Universitarios, these were their first wins in Chivas’ home ground in more than three decades.

This match, however, will be played in Mexico City, where Chivas has notoriously struggled against Pumas. The Rojiblancos have just one win at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario since 2004. That translates to just one Chivas victory in 14 visits to Pumas’ home ground across all competitions.

My take on the game...

Chivas is simply a mess right now. I can't see how this team will turn things around in Mexico City, given that they have lost their scoring touch and are visiting a stadium they traditionally struggle in. That said, I also can’t see Pumas UNAM getting the home win, which is why I’m leaning toward a quiet draw.