Game: Cruz Azul vs. Tijuana Xolos

Where: Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes, Mexico City

When: Saturday, November 30, 2024

Time: 5:10 p.m. PST

TV: Univision, TUDN, VIX

The Tijuana Xolos will face Cruz Azul for the return leg in this quarterfinal clash this Saturday, November 30, in Mexico City.

The first game in this series resulted in a shocking 3-0 victory for the Border City Dogs in a game where Cruz Azul was heavily favored.

That massive three-goal advantage now plays a role, as Cruz Azul would have to win this game by a three-goal difference or more to advance. This seems like an almost impossible task, but La Maquina did defeat Xolos 3-0 when they played in the regular season. Club Tijuana is far better at home than on the road, but they do not need to win this game to advance.

Raul Zuniga, Efrain Alvarez, and Emmanuel Reynoso scored the goals in the first-leg match, which led to this massive victory. Manager Juan Carlos Osorio has been experimental all season and has kept that up in the playoffs. In the first-leg match, at some points in the game, defenders Unai Bilbao and Rafael Fernandez were playing at striker.

Alejandro Gomez played at left-back against Cruz Azul and, in the previous match against Atlas, was in the midfield. Osorio believes in using his entire squad and rotating players in various different positions on the pitch.

These tactics have proven to be very effective in this playoff run for Club Tijuana, and it will be intriguing to see Xolos’ lineup in this game. Raul Zuniga is the clear standout player recently for the Xoloitzcuintles, with four goals scored in this postseason.

Cruz Azul had the best offense in the Liga MX regular season with 39 goals scored and will need the attack to step up in this game. Cruz Azul had 27 percent possession and no shots on target in the first leg at the Estadio Caliente, and that will need to change in this return leg. Jorge Sanchez’s red card certainly played a role in the poor offensive production for Los Celestes and he will not be available for this match.

It will be interesting to see how Martin Anselmi sets up his side, as Cruz Azul will need to be aggressive from the gate. Los Cementeros will also need to be nearly perfect defensively, as a goal by Xolos will mean that the home team will need at least four goals to advance.

Club Tijuana set up everything to advance to the semifinals in the first leg, and if this were any other team in the league, there would likely be 100 percent confidence. However, this Cruz Azul team proved to be the best in the regular season and certainly have the capabilities to score the goals they might need.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.