Pumas UNAM is virtually one win away from clinching a place in the 2018 Liga MX Apertura Liguilla, and on Sunday they will look to complete said task playing host to Tigres UANL at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario.
After making history and beating Chivas Guadalajara in Jalisco for the first time in 36 years, Pumas UNAM will look to continue to find their feet in a crucial home game in Mexico City. Pumas arrives to this game with their morale high and having gone unbeaten in each of their last six Liga MX matches.
Tigres, on the other hand, find themselves struggling after losing 3-2 at home to Club América. Inconsistency has been a theme for Tigres, currently sitting seventh in the league table with only 18 points.
- Four of Tigres UANL’s last six Liga MX matches have gone UNDER the total.
- Pumas UNAM has lost just once in its last five Liga MX matches at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario.
- Tigres have just one win in their last nine Liga MX matches away from home.
Pumas UNAM vs Tigres UANL Game Center
Despite a historical edge, Tigres have looked vulnerable
If you are a regular of Liga MX football, then you probably know Tigres have a tradition of peaking late and entering the Liguilla as a genuine contender for the league title. This season, however, you get the feeling that some of that magic may be running out for Tigres and that has a lot of their bettors worried as we enter the business end of the campaign.
Part of the reason is that in addition to looking surprisingly vulnerable at home, where they’ve already lost twice this season, Tigres have been able to get very little away from Monterrey. In fact, Tigres have won just once this season as the visiting team, including two defeats.
Mexico City is always a tough ask for Tigres
It’s not all bad news for Tigres. Though the last time both of these two teams met, Pumas UNAM won 2-0, Tigres have lost just once in their last seven games against the Mexico City outfit. Four of those games were Tigres victories, and they’ve outscored Pumas 11-2 across the last four matches.
Of course, visiting Mexico City is never an easy task, and unsurprisingly, they have just one win in their last six visits to the Estadio Olimpico Universitario. Tigres do have a previous visit to Mexico City this season, against Cruz Azul at the Estadio Azteca in Week 3, and as you can imagine, Tigres came out of that game winless.
Pumas’ offense has been a pleasant surprise
One of the more surprising things about this season in Liga MX is how good Pumas UNAM have been offensively after the departure of Nico Castillo. Ironically, the Chilean forward scored during his national team’s midweek friendly against Mexico and later told reporters he makes sure to keep an eye out for his former team.
Castillo will no doubt be happy to see his team do so well in the goalscoring department, given that Pumas is tied for the second-best offense in the league with 22 goals scored. Their goalscoring abilities have been even more evident at home, notching nine goals in their last three matches at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario. That’s an average of three goals per match.
Pumas is near impossible to beat when they get thing going offensively and haven’t lost a game this season in which they have scored two or more goals.
My Pick...
As much as I’d like to buy into the idea that this is the game that turns the season around for Tigres, I simply don’t see it. There is no doubt in my mind Tigres will make the Liguilla, but beyond that, something about this team just doesn’t end up convincing me. That’s why I’ve got to go with a Pumas UNAM win over this Tigres side.
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