Both teams are coming off a loss, but the Rayados have been perfect at home.
The Pumas visit Monterrey to close out Matchday 7 with both teams coming off losses, and hungry to rebound quickly. Both sit tied with 9 points in the league table, with the universitarios ahead two places thanks to goal difference.
They’ve both had a pretty similar season: a good job at home, while the road has presented struggles. So far in the Apertura 2019, the Rayados have a perfect home record, but found difficulties on the road. On Friday, Santos jumped out to an early lead and held on to end Monterrey’s three-game win streak.
Monterrey have shown a powerful offense through six games, scoring 9 goals, but their defense, as is becoming familiar, has been nothing to brag about. The Rayados have allowed 9 goals as well. This is a familiar story too, and it HAS NOT led to championships for the regios.
The Pumas, on the other hand, defeated San Luis on the road to begin the season, but have lost both games away from home since then – in Tijuana and at struggling Morelia. UNAM has been an up-and-down team
The felinos are averaging a goal per game -nothing exceptional – but their defense has been stellar, allowing only 4 goals in six games. Their defense will be key on Thursday night. The Pumas defense must hold Rayados to a low score, and look to counter-attack, using “speedster” Pablo Barrera and company. Of course, this is much easier said than done against a Monterrey team that knows how to suffocate rivals when playing in their stadium.
Prediction
I see UNAM coming out with another good defensive showing, and I expect them to give the Rayados a hard time, but I also expect Monterrey to break down the wall. Monterrey is a team desperate for a win, considering their “slow” start to the season, having such a powerful team and coming off such a good ending to last season. Funes Mori, Vincent Janssen, and company will be more than Michel’s team can handle. Rayados by 1.