Monterrey back on the road to face lowly Morelia
Monterrey appeared come alive last weekend at home, but can the Rayados solve their road struggles?
Monterrey is on the road this Friday for the third time in four Liga MX games, and just returned home after playing in Chiapas in an aborted Copa MX match on Tuesday.
The Rayados have not had much success on the road, losing at America and at Atletico San Luis to open the season. But Monterrey did come alive at home last weekend, beating Leon 3-2.
This weekend, Monterrey visits a Morelia team that has little to offer. The Monarcas are safely above relegation concerns, but they are not expected to contend for a playoff spot either. The Michoacanos lost Week 1 at Tigres, then fell to Atlas in their home opener in Week 2. Morelia then defeated Pachuca, another mediocre team, last weekend at Estadio Hidalgo.
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Truth be told, Morelia do not own the best quality players in the league. Not even their captain, Aldo Rocha, has been known to do much since entering the league in 2013 with Leon. And Peru international Edison Flores hasn’t yet made a mark in the league since he arrived a year ago, only scoring 6 goals s far.
Even their win over Pachuca featured a dose of good luck, as both Monarcas’ goals were circumstantial, a lucky bounce on the first, and huge blunder by Pachuca keeper Rodrigo Rey on the second.
We all know the Rayados have a potent offense and most all their starters were given a rest on Tuesday, so they should all be ready to go come Friday evening. New striker Vincent Janssen isn’t expected to debut with the regios for at least three more weeks.
Then again, Monterrey’s bad road record makes for a very unpredictable score line. The Rayados will no doubt have to fight a Morelia team that knows how to make games ugly and the Monarcas will complicate certain passages of this match.
Prediction
Monterrey have won at least eight games in each of the past four seasons, meaning roughly half of their games. I don’t expect that to change this season. Another win could be enough to boost the confidence of Diego Alonso’s team and allow them to again become that goal-scoring, point-making machine that has performed so well over the past decade. What I saw from Rogelio Funes Mori last Saturday is a great sign. Look for more of the same in Estadio Morelos on Friday.