Only one match remains for teams in the Primera Division. While most teams will be playing for pride, their fans, or their individual contracts, many teams are fighting for seeding or their place in Liguilla. Luckily, I’ve determined exactly how it will all play out.
So much can change, but just because these are always fun to look at, here are the playoff matchups if the current positions held:
| 1. Santos | v. | 8. Cruz Azul |
| 2. America | v. | 7. Pachuca |
| 3. Morelia | v. | 6. Tijuana |
| 4. Tigres | v. | 5. Monterrey |
Five teams have secured their position in this season’s playoffs: Santos, America, Morelia, Tigres, and Monterrey will be competing for the championship this season. With this collection of solid, strong teams having already secured their spot, some fascinating matchups are due to come out. A possible first round meeting between Tigres and Monterrey, for example, would be enough to draw ample interest.
With five playoff spots being locked down, three are currently up for grabs. Four teams are competing for these last three positions (Tijuana, Pachuca, Cruz Azul, and Chiapas). Things would have to go terribly wrong for Tijuana to miss out on a playoff spot. Realistically, Cruz Azul, Chiapas, and Pachuca are fighting for two spots. With that in mind, here are this weekend’s matchups for these teams:
- Chiapas v. Morelia
- Pachuca v. Chivas
- Cruz Azul at America
Cruz Azul are the only one of these teams that will face this final weekend on the road (and at the Azteca against an in-form Club America). Chiapas face off against another top-team in Morelia. One would assume that both America and Morelia would be looking to capture all three points in their matchups, as the outcome of the weekend could place either team anywhere from the 1-seed to the 5-seed (although America will know more about their game implications by their late Sunday game time). So, advantage to Pachuca. The Tuzos will be playing at home against a Chivas squad that hasn’t shown a ton of interest in playing or staying on the pitch in recent weeks. Pachuca controls their own destiny in that if they can win this match, they are in the playoffs. I suspect they will. The final spot will then come down to Cruz Azul and Chiapas, and who makes the most out of their tough final round matchup.
Here is how I see this weekend playing out. Feel free to take these picks to your local sports book with extreme confidence (coming from someone who is too scared to sit at a blackjack table).
Tecos v Queretaro – Friday night TV programming hasn’t been this "must-see" since Urkel’s glory years (you couldn’t pay me to watch this one, nor care about the outcome)
Chiapas v Morelia – Morelia win 3-1 after Tomas Boy gets Jackson Martinez red carded.
Pachuca v Guadalajara – Pachuca wins 1-0 with the match being forfeited after Chivas are reduced to 6 men in the 58th minute.
Tigres v Puebla – Tigres win 2-0 because, well, they are much better.
Atlas v Santos - Atlas make it three wins in a row, by defeating Santos by the score of (just kidding, Santos win 1-0)
Atlante v Monterrey – Monterrey continue their inconsistent form by conceding 3 goals to Atlante (yet they net 4 and take the win)
Toluca v San Luis – or to be more clear … Ivan Alonso 2 – 0 San Luis
Tijuana v Pumas – In their combined 32 matches, they have scored a total of 29 goals … This has 0-0 draw written all over it.
America v Cruz Azul – I’ll be attending this match, so lock this one down … America win 2-1.
If these matches play out in this fashion, as I’m sure they will, the playoff matchups will remain exactly the same, as if they started today. In other words, there’s no sense in even holding this final set of matches. This is all very cut and dry.
Who's in and who's out? Share your own final weekend predictions in the comment section below.