Chivas are fresh off of a monumental victory over arch-rival América last week, and are currently riding high in second place in the league. Indeed, Chivas fans have not had things so good for quite some time. They travel down south to face Jaguares for their jornada 8 match-up, and they will have to be on their toes. Jaguares have been perfect against high level competition this season, and have earned 6 of their 9 points at home.
Goalkeeper: Rodolfo Cota
Cota picked up his second shutout of the season last week against Las Aguilas.
Left Back: Edwin Hernández
Edwin caused América some trouble on the offensive end of the field, and is one of the top left backs in the league right now.
Center Backs: Oswaldo Alanís and Jair Pereira
Carlos Salcido has fallen out of favor, so Alanís and Pereira are the two clear choices for Matías Almeyda.
Right Back: Jesús Sánchez
People don’t mention it much, but in Hernández and Sánchez, Chivas have arguably the best wide-back combination in Liga MX.
Center Midfielders: Orbelin Pineda and José Vázquez
Vázquez has become an everyday starter for the first time in his Chivas career, and is making good use of the opportunity. Pineda is a genius with the ball, and Chivas will likely be receiving quite a few offers from across the pond in the coming months.
Left Wing: Ángel Zaldívar
Zaldívar is playing very well of late. Yes, his two recent goals have come from penalties, but he has created chances and looked dangerous during that time frame.
Central Attacking Midfielder: Rodolfo Pizarro
Pizarro has done a very good job of covering the field this year. He is 13th in the league in total distance run, and 2nd on Chivas (he is about half a kilometer short of Orbelin Pineda).
Right Wing: Javier López
La Chofis has debatably been limited in his career by being forced to play a variety of positions, but he seems to have settled in for the time being.
Forward: Alan Pulido
Pulido’s biggest problem seems to be keeping him on the field. Even when not injured, Pulido rarely ends up playing the full 90 minutes.
So yes, I predict absolutely no changes from last week’s América-busting lineup.
