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Pumas is expecting to build on their surprising Liga MX start as they host their first home game against Atlas. Pumas surprised most fans when they got a 3-2 away win against Pachuca, with two goals from star striker Nico Castillo. Despite the victory, Pumas did trail 2-0 at one point in that game and they still showed a very fragile defense. They will face a very tough Atlas team that is hoping to bounce back from two home loses, 2-1 against Leon and 1-0 against Veracruz in their Copa MX debut. The match will also bring up Atlas against their ex striker Matias Alustiza, who just arrived in Pumas and had a great debut against Pachuca.
Pumas turned things around quickly this season. After a first half against Pachuca that had fans thinking it would be another tough start, they turned things around and a great performance between new striker Alustiza and star striker Nico Castillo has fans really happy, at least in terms of their offensive possibilities. Still, Pumas had a nightmare last season when they finished last. Outside of Alustiza, they didn’t seem to add much and look actually weaker on defense with Gerardo Alcoba leaving to Torreon. Thus, it will be a very important match for newcomer, Spanish defender Alejandro Arribas, in his first home game. Pumas will be looking to click at home right away and keep the high momentum going.
Atlas had a very poor start of the season. They open with a 2-1 loss at home against Leon. Leon was the deserving winner, although Atlas showed some good things. Then a couple of days later they lost again at home against Veracruz 1-0. While it was a Copa MX game, Atlas had some regular starters in the game and they looked a lot worse than against Leon. Last season they did have some spirited away games, like getting a victory in Leon, so the team might be up to get a positive result from this one.
Date: Sunday January 14
Time: 10:00am Pacific, 12:00pm Central, 1:00pm Eastern
Venue: Estadio Universitario, Mexico City, Mexico
TV: Univision(US-Spanish), Univision Deportes Network(US - Spanish), UnivisionTDN (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)