Liga MX: Santos Laguna has a golden opportunity against Atlas

Back on track after beating Necaxa, Santos Laguna can put serious pressure on the top of the Liga MX table with Atlas coming to Estadio Corona.

The two teams ahead of Santos Laguna in the Liga MX table both have difficult match-ups against other top eight teams this week. Club America takes on Tigres, while Cruz Azul will need to deal with Monterrey. As heavy favorites this week against bottom-of-the-table Atlas, Santos has a real shot at taking over as the 1st place team.

Last Match

Santos: W @ Necaxa 0-1

With Jose Vazquez back after missing the match against Veracruz, Santos took care of Necaxa on the road. Santos was dominated in possession 65% to 35%, but Julio Furch scored in minute 24 and Los Guerreros were able to make it hold up for three big points away from home. Carlos Acevedo was huge in this match, playing in place of the injured Jonathan Orozco, making a whopping seven saves on the night.

Atlas: W v Toluca 2-0

Playing against the third place team in Liga MX, Atlas put together a solid performance, scoring twice and beating Toluca 2-0. Their two goals brought them to three goals scored on the season and moved them a bit closer to getting out of the very bottom of the table, now trailing Veracruz by three points. Jefferson Duque scored the games first goal and Atlas was able to frustrate Toluca to the point that Toluca captain Rueben Sambueza was shown a red card in the 57th minute. Ulises Cardona would tack on a second goal for Atlas and Los Zorros found the win column for the first time in this Apertura.

Predicted Lineups

Santos: 4-4-2

Acevedo
Abella – Nervo – Doria – Angulo
Isijara- Martinez- Vazquez – Lozano
Furch – Rodriguez

Manager Salvador Reyes seems to prefer the 4-4-2 with Osvaldo Martinez and Jose Vazquez patrolling the middle of the field. Given the way the defense has played most of the season, it is hard to argue with him. Julio Furch and Jonathan Rodriguez up top have been absolutely dominant and don’t show signs of slowing down.

Atlas: 4-2-3-1

Hernandez
Govea – Gonzalez – Jimenez – Calderon
Torres – Reyes
Garnica – Andrade – Cardona
Duque

The lineup that brought Atlas their first win of the season is probably going to be the same lineup they roll out against Santos. Los Zorros may play a bit more defensive-minded against a strong side on the road. Then again, what have they really got to lose? Captain Leiton Jimenez and Cristian Calderon have been Atlas’ highest rated players on the year, anchoring the left side of the defense. They’ll have their work cut out for them this week.

Key Players

Santos: Jonathan Rodriguez

The Uruguayan is currently tied for third in Liga MX with six goals on the season. He’s provided an excellent complement to Julio Furch up-top and will certainly need to continue his excellent season to force Atlas to worry about more than stopping Furch. While Jimenez and Calderon will likely be busy with Furch, it will be up to Rodriguez to put pressure on Omar Gonzalez and Ismael Govea to ensure Atlas doesn’t get a winning streak started.

Atlas: Leiton Jimenez

As I mentioned before, Jimenez will have to be at the top of his game this Friday. He’ll be going head-to-head with Julio Furch, who’s been the player of the season thus far in Liga MX. If he’s able to keep the current leader in goals quiet, Atlas will still need to worry about Jonathan Rodriguez on the other side. One step at a time, though. Jimenez has to keep Furch from dominating the game.

Prediction

Atlas has really been awful this season, though they were able to get a good result last time out. This is still the same team that couldn’t score to save their life, though, and it’s hard to ignore that from one good result. Santos has been the best team in the tournament, for me, and I certainly can’t see any reason Atlas would be the one to expose Los Guerreros for frauds, especially after the disappointing draw Santos had against Veracruz.

Santos 3 – Atlas 0

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