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Pumas will try to put their disappointing Liga MX start behind them as they have their Copa MX debut at home against Atlas. They will face a team that opened up with an away win in Liga MX and look to be improved from their disastrous last season. Pumas will need to bounce back and try to make a run in Copa MX, where last season they had highs and lows but ultimately fizzled out in the end.
Pumas will look to change things in a competition that hasn’t been very kind to them. Last tournament was more of the same with various highs and lows. They qualified to the Round of 16 and beat Chivas de Guadalajara in Guadalajara for the first time since 1982. While there was some doubts about if it was historic since it wasn’t in the league, they went and got a victory in the league in Guadalajara a couple of days later to make it sure it was legitimate. Still, Pumas went on and to lose against Leon in the Quarterfinals in a game where they started dominating and fizzled out.
For Pumas to do well in this edition of the Copa MX, they must get a positive result in this game, their home opener of the competition. Pumas might need to go all out in this competition if they don’t pick it up in the Liga MX, where thee draw against Veracruz is not a good omen.
After a terrible tournament last season, Atlas got off in the right foot. Following all sorts of troubles of even getting a goal, much less a win, Atlas got both in their first league game away to Queretaro. They might want to go for another in their first Copa MX game away in Ciudad Universitaria. An offensive Atlas might pose a problem for a Pumas team that looked lethargic but might benefit from the lower temperature expected on Tuesday.
Pumas vs Atlas is an interesting match that will start the first edition in 2019 of the Copa MX tournament. It reminds to be seen if both teams do the normal thing for Liga MX teams in Copa MX and start a lineup of mostly young bench players. For Pumas it will be a great opportunity for their plan to concentrate on youth and not in high cost additions. We will start to see if that pays off.
Date: Tuesday, January 8
Time: 5:00pm Pacific, 7:00pm Central, 8:00pm Eastern
Venue: Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City, México
TV: Univision Deportes Network (US-Spanish), TDN (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)