Tijuana Xolos Liga MX CL 18 Week 5 Preview: Xolos Look To Stay Undefeated vs Santos Laguna
Credit: LIGA MX
Game: Santos Laguna vs Tijuana Xolos
When: Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018
Where: Estadio Corona TSM, Torreon, Mexico
Time: 5:00 P.M. PST
TV: None
The Tijuana Xolos will travel to Torreon to face Santos Laguna for their fifth match of the season.
The Xoloitzcuintles are currently undefeated in the Liga MX Clausura 2018 after four weeks. The Aztec Canines are inclusively yet to allow a goal and are coming off a dominant 2-0 win against Puebla. The Xolos have wins against Puebla and Necaxa at the Estadio Caliente and draws against Monterrey and Cruz Azul away from home. Diego Cocca has implemented a very direct and pragmatic style that has worked wonders for the team to achieve important results this season. The border city team is more recently coming off a 3-2 loss versus Toronto FC in a friendly match in San Diego.
Some role players like Alejandro Guido, Luis Angel Mendoza, and Miller Bolaños played in the game, and could potentially feature in this match. Bolaños was particularly impressive as he scored two goals against the Canadian side. Michael Orozco could be the only player that misses out in this match as he did not play in Xolos’ last Liga MX game and it is unclear if he will be ready for this match. The border city dogs will not have an easy game this Saturday by any stretch of the imagination and could even suffer their first loss of the season.
Santos Laguna has suffered a loss this season, but has two wins and a draw to go along with it.
Los Guerreros are coming off a 1-1 draw against Veracruz that was arguably their worst performance of the season. Robert Silboldi’s men were very lucky to come away with the point as a late penalty tied the game. Santos most impressive performance came in the opening week of the competition when the team from Torreon achieved a 4-2 win against Lobos BUAP. The team is very well-balanced and counters with the very powerful centre-back partnership of Nestor Araujo and Carlos Izquierdoz.
The two are among the most physical and talented defenders in the league and could also cause Xolos problems on set-pieces. The main creator in the midfield is Osvaldo Martinez, who has immense vision and a very potent strike from outside of the box. Djaniny Tavares has led the attack on Santos Laguna so far and has arguably been the best player in the Liga MX. The Cape Verdean forward already has six goals in the first four games and will be looking to add to his tally this week. Santos has a very promising side and will look to use their home-field advantage in this match.
Prediction
The prediction for the match is an exciting 2-2 draw between the Aztec Canines and the Celestial Warriors. Santos has been one of the better offensive teams this season with seven goals, while the Xolos have yet to concede any. This should make for a must-watch encounter this Saturday at the Estadio Corona TSM.
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.