Pumas aren’t back, at least not yet. Although last season’s finalists finally ended their four-game losing streak on Thursday night with a narrow 1-0 win over Santos, too many dilemmas and obstacles lie ahead for the team led by manager Andres Lillini.
And although Pumas will be hosting Sunday’s match, Cruz Azul have been demolishing teams left and right this season. With an eye-catching total of seven consecutive wins, no Liga MX side have looked more commanding or as efficient as Cruz Azul.
Pumas could give them trouble, especially if goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera once again shines in the net, but the answer here is an easy one.
Pick:
Cruz Azul for the win ()
How to Watch Pumas vs Cruz Azul
| Pumas vs Cruz Azul Information |
| What |
Pumas vs Cruz Azul |
| Where |
Estadio Olimpico Universitario |
| When |
Sunday, March 7th at 10:00 PM ET |
| How to Watch |
Univision, TUDN |
Why not Pumas? After all, they were incredibly close to winning the title last season, right?
Despite the fact that that may be true, Pumas have also been one of the more underwhelming teams of 2021. Like fellow finalists Leon, they’ve appeared exasperated in the first half of the season with discouraging draws and far too many losses.
Most importantly, and most depressingly, Pumas’ attacking numbers have also failed to impress most of their supporters. Even with the recent victory in hand, Pumas have only scored five times in their nine games this season. Due to this, they’ve only collected two wins through those nine matches and lots of criticism for their lack of motivation in the frontline.
So although Pumas turned things around, this seems more like a temporary move when you consider their next opponents.
Cruz Azul Have Become The Team To Beat In Liga MX
While Pumas are celebrating their first win since January, Cruz Azul will be nonchalantly entering the weekend with seven victories in a row.
It has been incredible to not only see how well they’ve done with finding the back of the net, but also how well they’ve shined in defense. With just five goals allowed in nine games, only Monterrey have allowed fewer goals — and they have a match in hand as well.
Cruz Azul have been near perfect for the last two months and keeping in mind that Pumas needed a bit of luck just to sneak by with a narrow 1-0 result in their favor on Thursday, there won’t be much for Cruz Azul to worry about as they head across town to face their Mexico City neighbors.
Recent Win For Pumas Was A Fortuitous One
Sorry to be a downer here for Pumas, but they were the second-best team on the field in their latest 1-0 victory over Santos.
Thanks to an incredible goalkeeping performance from Talavera in net, and also a questionable penalty call in their favor that led to a lone goal, Pumas walked away with three golden points against a Santos team that deserved more.
The post-game stats agree as well. As opposed to Pumas 1.1 xG (expected goals) rating, most of which was composed from the penalty kick shot, Santos’ rating of 1.9 shows that they were worthy of much more. In the build-up of plays, Santos also finished with a higher non-shot xG of 0.9 in comparison to Pumas 0.6 rating.
Apologies once again to Pumas fans, but your club was lucky to end their losing streak.
Depth And Backup Options Have Thrived For Cruz Azul
One thing that must be brought up about Cruz Azul is their ability to gain wins through roster rotations. Manager Juan Reynoso hasn’t been afraid to mix things up with his starting XI, and as seen in their latest win over Mazatlan, a handful of backups looked highly motivated as they stepped in for usual starters.
This depth will be a godsend for the squad as they go through a busy schedule with mid-week games that have kicked-off in March.
And while Pumas’ starters will be catching their breath after fighting for a full 90 minutes on Thursday night, a few starters for Cruz Azul will be back in the XI after a recent break, ready to extend their winning streak to eight games.
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