View the Cruz Azul 2-1 Leon highlights here.
The first leg of the Cruz Azul vs Leon quarterfinal match up will take place on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 8:00 PM EST at the Estadio Azul in Mexico City. Cruz Azul finished the season strong, and shrugged off the ineffective offense it displayed through the first half of the season. Leon has been one of the most consistent teams in the Liga MX, playing an aggressive style very successfully. Who will win this series between the 6th seed, Cruz Azul, and the 3rd seed, Leon?
Cruz Azul – best defense in the Liga MX
Cruz Azul went the entire season without losing a single match at home, Cruz Azul drew 6 games and won 3, for a total of 15 points. Although only earning 3 wins at home isn’t very impressive, the fact that Cruz Azul didn’t lose a single match at home is; it shows how difficult of a time Leon will have at the Estadio Azul.
Another thing going for Cruz Azul is their defense, tied for best in the Liga MX, having allowed just 15 goals in 17 matches, an average of less than one goal per game. Unfortunately, the Liga MX’ poor planing means that the first leg falls on the same day as a FIFA match day. This means that Perea, Cruz Azul’s key player on defense, will miss the game, because he will be playing for Colombia. We shall see how much of an effect this has on Cruz Azul’s defense.
Leon – best offense in the Liga MX
Matosas has done something incredible in Leon, he took a team that was supposed to be fighting for relegation against Atlas and Queretaro, into a team that is fighting for the title against the likes of Cruz Azul, America and Chivas. Matosas has done this by making Leon the most aggressive team in the Liga MX, always playing an offensively stacked lineup, no matter what stadium they’re in.
Leon has the best offense in the Liga MX, having scored 34 goals, an average of 2 goals per game. The team’s scoring has been led by Sebastian Maz, who has scored 8 goals so far. He is followed by Britos and Peña, who have each scored 6 goals. You can be assured that Matosas will do the same thing he has been doing all season long in this Cruz Azul vs Leon match, play an attacking style and look to overpower Cruz Azul’s defense.
Cruz Azul vs Leon Prediction
Last time these two teams met was August 17th at the Estadio Azul, the end result was a 1-1 draw. That match saw Cruz Azul fall back on defense most of the game, while Leon dominated possession and went on the attack; Cruz Azul scored an opportunistic goal and maintained the 1-1 score. I suspect the playoff version of this match up will be very similar. Matosas’ Leon is a very aggressive team, Vazquez will try to exploit this by falling back and playing on the counterattack. The Cruz Azul vs Leon liguilla match will end in a 1-1 draw, that gives the advantage to Leon, which gets to close the series off at home.
Cruz Azul vs Leon Television
The match will be televised on Azteca America on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 8:00 PM EST.
View the Cruz Azul 2-1 Leon highlights here.
