The Atlas-Necaxa match features two teams going in the opposite direction though both are mired in the bottom of the standings.
Atlas had 1 goal through Matchday 10 but since then has scored 7 goals in 3 games. Necaxa has seen its season come crashing down after a heady start, resulting in the sacking of coach Marcelo Michel with the team on a 5-game winless streak. Neither team has playoff hopes but the Clausura 2019 season is only a little more than 2 months away, so players should know their jobs are on the line now.
Last match
Necaxa: 2-0 loss vs León
The Rayos still entertained faint postseason dreams at kickoff but an early penalty took the wind out of their sales and the home fans were disappointed again. Coach Michel tinkered with his starting line-up again but the team failed to respond. There seemed to be little offensive unity although effort was better than in some recent matches.
Atlas: 4-3 win vs Veracruz
Atlas nearly doubled its goal total in this game (5 goals coming into the match) and the win gave them some breathing room in the fight to avoid relegation in May. However, both Andrés Andrade and Jefferson Duque missed scoring chances (and Duque missed a penalty kick too). The Zorros central defense looked slow and vulnerable at times but Lorenzo Reyes slid back to help out when needed.
Possible line-ups
Necaxa: 4-2-3-1
Gutiérrez
Beckeles – Alvarado – Hernández – Mayorga
M. Fernández – González
B. Fernández – Villalpando – Allende
Dávila
It’s difficult to project a starting 11 since Necaxa will have an interim coach on the bench and management might ask that an experimental line-up be used to begin assessing the roster. Starting goalie Hugo González might be back after suffering a shoulder injury while on duty with El Tri, but I think they might prefer protecting him ahead of next season. There might be a lot of free-lancing on offense and that might not be a good thing.
Atlas: 4-1-3-2
Hernández
Govea – González – Jiménez – Olvera
Reyes
Álvarez – Vigón – Andrade
Oboagye – Duque
Atlas has to this is a great chance to get their first road win of the season and coach Guillermo Hoyos might be quick to insert winger Bryan Garnica to add some width. Álvarez has never found the comfort level needed to show his undeniable talent and the home stretch might be his last best chance to keep his spot in the starting line-up. Duque’s movement and Clifford Oboagye’s speed could give Necaxa fits.
Key players
Necaxa: Víctor Dávila needs to start playing better if he hopes to leap to greener pastures. The 20-year-old Chile international has not shown signs of improvement since a promising start and his impatience and frustration has been evident.
Atlas: Andrés Andrade is a mix of power and grace but he struggled to fit in at Atlas, trying to do too much to prove his worth. He has settled in of late and has been working much better alongside skipper Juan Pablo Vigón. His battle with Brayan Beckeles will be fun to watch.
Prediction
It’s always difficult to predict how a team responds to a coach’s dismissal. Were they rebelling against him? Are they upset that he got fired for their own poor performances? Will they be inspired to play harder? From my view, plenty of Rayos were mailing it in the past month and it is possible that coach Michel had lost his team. I don’t see them turning it back on for an interim coach even though they probably know jobs are at stake.