Liga MX: Santos Laguna travels to Queretaro; first place in sight
A big win against Monterrey set Santos up great for a match against Queretaro, coming off a big loss to Toluca.
Queretaro went into last week’s Liga MX match on a high, having beaten Cruz Azul with a 2-0 shutout. This week is the exact opposite feeling. Los Gallos Blancos were destroyed in Toluca, and now face the tall task of taking on Santos Laguna. Santos has been consistently good all year, with just a couple of blips of poor play on their campaign.
Last Match
Santos: W v Monterrey 1-0
Right out of the starting gates, Santos Laguna put pressure on the Monterrey defense. In the 17th minute, Julio Furch did what he’s done so well all Apertura long, putting the ball behind the keeper to put Los Guerreros up 1-0. The remainder of the match put the Santos defense on display. Jonathan Orozco made three saves in the second half, and Santos were able to make the 1-0 score stand for three important points in the table.
Querétaro: L @ Toluca 0-4
Toluca’s Luis Mendoza scored in the 13th minute, then Queretaro’s Edson Puch lost his cool, collecting two yellows in the 26th minute. Queretaro was able to hold on to keep the score 1-0 at the halftime whistle. They made it eight minutes into the 2nd half before the wheels came off. Osvaldo Gonzalez scored in the 53rd minute, Luis Mendoza completed his brace in the 58th, and Alexis Vega capped off the scoring with the 4th Toluca goal in the 61st minute. Queretaro couldn’t muster a shot on goal in the match, sealing their fate.
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Predicted Lineups
Santos: 4-2-3-1
Orozco
Abella – Nervo – Doria – Angulo
Martinez- Vazquez
Isijara- Lozano- Rodriguez
Furch
Shuffling around the formation, Salvador Reyes moved Brian Lozano into a more central role last week against Monterrey. It seemed to work out well, though, not many combinations haven’t for Los Guerreros this season.
Querétaro: 4-4-2
Volpi
Corral – Mier – Romo – Pérez
Cortizo – Gómez – Guemez – Villalva
Ruiz – Sanvezzo
Edson Puch is unavailable from his red card last week, stepping in for him, Jordi Cortizo is likely to step into his spot in the lineup. Queretaro is highly likely to sit back and play for a 0-0 or 1-0 game. It’s been hard for them to score, in general. On Santos’ great defense, it’s an even taller order.
Key Players
Santos: Brian Lozano
The Uruguayan midfielder has been the third wheel of the Santos attack this season, but his contributions shouldn’t go unnoticed. He’ll serve the important role of breaking down the Queretaro defense with his movement and vision to get the ball into dangerous areas for Julio Furch and Jonathan Rodriguez to continue their excellent goal-scoring seasons.
Querétaro: Camilo Sanvezzo
The Brazilian has eight of Queretaro’s 14 goals on the season. That’s 57% of their goals. The next closest scorer for Los Gallos Blancos is Marcel Ruiz with just two. If Queretaro has any chance, Sanvezzo has to be the one to lead them. It is hard to envision anyone else providing the means of besting the joint-leaders.
Prediction
I think you’ve probably gathered from the other sections that it would be a shock if Santos lose this match. Queretaro is kind of a sneaky team in that they can make life difficult for even the best clubs in Liga MX. Santos is a different animal, however, they just haven’t made many mistakes this season and I don’t envision Los Gallos Blancos forcing enough mistakes, let alone capitalizing on them.