Toluca vs Pachuca – Week 5 Preview

Toluca, the first placed team in the Liga MX, will try to continue their winning streak against a Pachuca team that has under-performed (everyone expected much better results with the players they signed in the preseason). The Toluca vs Pachuca match will take place at Estadio Nemesio Diez on Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 1:00 PM EST. Toluca has been outstanding so far, winning four out of four matches, while playing an effective attacking style. Pachuca has yet to find its playing style, and it still struggles to earn points; Pachuca’s draw against Xolos last week was a complete fluke (in my opinion).

Chivas, Puebla, Leon and Pumas have all succumbed to the infernal fire of Toluca; it is no easy feat to accumulate four wins in a row in the Liga MX, a league famed for its parity. Toluca has found a balanced style of play, and has surprisingly found the net a total of nine times so far. Toluca has not appeared to run out of steam yet, and playing at home against a Pachuca team that is still trying to find itself should provide them an excellent chance to accumulate a fifth win in a row.

Had it not been for Nery Castillo’s last minute (and beautiful) goal against Xolos last week, Pachuca would have lost a game they truly did deserve to lose. In all four previous matches, there appears to be a disconnect between the defense, midfield, and offense; Pachuca simply isn’t able to connect a series of passes to create an effective attack. Obviously, their offensive issues are due to the fact that over half the team is brand new, and are still getting used to playing with each other and to a new coach’s style. I don’t expect Pachuca to find their game-play all of a sudden, much less against a red-hot (pun-intended) Toluca.

Prediction: Toluca will continue their winning streak by taking advantage of a Pachuca side that is still struggling on the field. Toluca will win easily and pile the pressure on an already stressed Hugo Sanchez. The score will be Toluca 2 – Pachuca 0.

Television:  The Toluca vs Pachuca match will be shown on Univision Deportes at 1:00 PM EST on Sunday, August 19th. Please do check Univision though, as past Toluca games have been scheduled on Univision Deportes but shown on Univision.