SAN DIEGO, CA.- The Xolos who are still barely holding on to a playoff spot and will be traveling to Mexico City to take on Cruz Azul who are also desperately battling for the playoffs. Both teams are coming from important midweek wins, but are still expected to field strong squads for this affair.
The match is scheduled for Saturday, April 13 at 3:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time), 5:00 PM local time at the Estadio Azul in Mexico City.
The Xoloitzcuitles are currently in eighth place with 18 points; the last playoff spot. Cruz Azul on the other hand are in eleventh place but only one point off of Xolos with 17. These are the types of games that were once referred to as "six point games". The winner will not only earn three points in their fight for the playoffs, but will also take away three points from one of their nearest rivals. And with only three games left after this one every point becomes more and more important.
Cruz Azul will be full of confidence coming into this game. On Wednesday night in Cancun they ended a 15 year trophy-less drought. The Mexico City team defeat Atlante in a penalty shoot-out to win the Copa MX title. This is the first trophy for Cruz Azul since the 1997 league title that they won over Leon.
The Xolos are also coming off an important win on Wednesday night. It went down to the last play of the game, but Tijuana managed a 1-0 win over Colombian side Millonarios to finish the group stage with 13 points and be one of the highest seeded team going into the round of 16.
In spite of the midweek battle in the Copa Libertadores, the Xolos players should all be well rested. Xolos coach Antonio Mohamed sent out a starting eleven made of of reserve and youth players on Wednesday night.
The probable starting lineup for Xolos is: Cirilo Saucedo, Juan Carlos Nuñez, Pablo Aguilar, Javier Gandolfi, Edgar Castillo, Cristian Pellerano, Fernando Arce, Joe Corona, Duvier Riascos, Fidel Martinez, and Raul Enriquez.
editorial@sandiegored.com
