Santos and Tigres will both be looking for a win this Saturday, September 1, 2012 at 8:00 PM EDT at TSM Corona, as they are both on a four game win-less streak. Santos and Tigres are in a very similar situation: both advanced deep into last season’s playoffs but are now struggling, both have gone four games without a win, and both are located near the middle of the standings. Which team will have the pain of going five games without a win?
Santos visited Hugo Sanchez’ Pachuca last week, desperately looking for a point that would end their two-game losing streak. Santos setup in a conservative fashion, and added to Pachuca’s general inability to score (worst offense in the Liga MX with just three goals), Santos got the point they came looking for. Now that the losing streak has been stopped, Benjamin Galindo will be looking for a win that will return his team to good form. After the mid-week CCL away victory over Toronto, Santos is finally looking back in shape, and should play a good match against Tigres.
Tigres also find themselves in a four game win-less streak; however, they did achieve a good result last week, drawing 1-1 at home with an until then unstoppable Toluca. El Tuca‘s team should be doing better in the Liga MX, after all, he is using a completely alternate squad in the CONCACAF Champions League. The defense hasn’t been as great as we would expect from a team coached by Tuca Ferreti, having allowed six goal in as many matches. Nonetheless, last week’s result were signs of improvement, and Tigres appears to be heading in the right direction.
Prediction: Santos and Tigres appear to be on the upswing, and this match will definitely prove who will move up the standings and who will stagnate. Both teams are extremely similar, and have faced each other many, many times in the last year: they know each other very well. In the end, I just can’t seem to separate either of these teams, they are simply too equal in too many ways. The score will be Santos 1 – Tigres 1. Both teams will go on a tough-to-bear five game win-less streak.
Television: The Santos vs Tigres Apertura 2012 match will be shown on Telefutura this Saturday, September 1 at 8:00 PM Eastern.
