The second leg of the Leon vs Morelia Liga MX liguilla quarterfinal will be played this Saturday, November 30, 2013 (6:00 PM Pacific) at the Nou Camp in Leon. The first leg of the series ended in an exciting 3-3 draw at the Estadio Morelos. Due to the away goal rule, Morelia must defeat Leon (by any score) if it wants to move on to the semifinal– or tie with four or more goals scored.
The first leg was a true sign of what tactics coach Matosas (Leon) and coach Bustos (Morelia) love to use: an offensive style that never rests. Both coaches started off with offensive formations, and never really changed them. Matosas’ team could have probably benefited from a defensive formation once Leon took the 3-1 lead, instead, Leon played the same and allowed Morelia to come back.
At the Nou Camp, we can definitely expect to see more of the same offensive styles, with plenty of scoring opportunities and goals. After all, Leon and Morelia were the 5th and 4th highest scoring teams in the regular season. Furthermore, given that Morelia must win to advance, and that Bustos doesn’t need much of a reason to field an offensive formation, we can expect a high scoring game.
The big names on both teams will need to show up in the decisive second leg of this quarterfinal. On Leon’s side, Rafa Marquez needs to take command of his defense and stop the powerful Morelia offense. For Morelia, Mancilla and Jefferson Montero will need to pile on the goals, because Leon will not hold back.
On an off-the-pitch note, lets hope Leon’s fans act in a respectable manner (although they’ve never been good), given that they already caused disturbances at the Estadio Morelos last week. For some reason, the land where “la vida no vale nada” (i.e. Leon) creates some pretty awful soccer fans.
Leon vs Morelia Prediction
During the regular season, Leon was one of the best homes teams, only losing one match at the Nou Camp. Morelia was mediocre away, winning three out of the nine away matches it disputed. However, don’t count Morelia out yet, Leon is not invincible.
Look for an offensive style on both sides of the pitch, that’s the way the coaches like to play, and that’s what we’ll see. I expect another high-scoring match, this time ending in a 3-2 Leon victory. Leon will move on to the semifinals, although, I don’t see them progressing past that stage.
Leon vs Morelia TV Schedule
The Leon vs Morelia match will be televised this Saturday, November 30, 2013 on Telemundo at 6:00 PM Pacific.
