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Pumas might feel their prize for a third-place finish is unjust as they face their personal bogey team Tigres in the Quarterfinals of the 2018 Liga MX Apertura. Pumas will have their work cut out against a Tigres team that finished the regular season on the ascendancy and with star striker Andre-Pierre Gignac wining the golden boot.
While this is a third vs. sixth match in the Liguilla, it should be the one in which the team with the worst record is the most favored out of all the Liguilla Quarterfinal match ups. It’s not just that Tigres have a strong squad and veteran coach in Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti, but historically they have done well in the Liguilla against Pumas.
Moreover, Pumas’s third-place finish could be a little misleading. At times, the Mexico City side didn’t play well, and they only finished so high based on having the best away record in the league. At the same time, they didn’t have a particularly strong season at home.
Tigres already showed its potential in their regular season meeting when they tied 3-3 at Pumas and probably deserved a better result. As such, it’s not a surprise to see that Tigres might be the favored team in this particular series, and just like last season, Pumas might curse their final 1-1 draw at home. Ultimately, Pumas will have to play extremely well to turn things around and it starts with keeping their momentum away from home.
Date: Thursday, November 29
Time: 7:00pm Pacific, 9:00pm Central, 10:00pm Eastern
Venue: Estadio Universitario, San Nicolas de los Garza, México
TV: Univision Deportes Network (US-Spanish), Canal 5 Televisa (Mexico), TDN (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)