:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63057823/1128571113.jpg.0.jpg)
Leaders Monterrey have a great opportunity to get an away victory when they face struggling Morelia on Friday night. Monterrey sits alone at top of the league table and arrive on the back of an impressive home victory against Lobos BUAP. Meanwhile, Morelia will arrive after losing against Pachuca, their fourth defeat in six games in 2019. Morelia might be doomed to another loss but recent events prove that Rayados is far from a sure thing in away games.
It seems like all signs point to Monterrey being able to get all the three points. They have one of the strongest squads in Mexico, and they got even better after adding Miguel Layun, who made his Rayados debut last Saturday.
But not all is perfect for Monterrey, especially when it comes to away performances. Prior to the Lobos BUAP game, Monterrey got a draw in their visit to Pumas, a team that had been struggling and had just fired their coach David Patiño. Though a point away from home may seem like a good result for Monterrey, the reality was they should have got the win. Los Rayados wen up a man after Pumas’ Luis Quintana got red carded and then went on to score immediately in the 28th minute. But missed opportunities at the end cost Monterrey the chance to leave the heat of Ciudad Universitaria with all three points.
Currently, because of their schedule, Monterrey have only one other away game in their record. a 2-1 win against Querétaro. However, even in that match Monterrey needed a last-minute goal to get the result they wanted, in a match in which they were the team down a man and were facing frankly the worst team in this Clausura.
Morelia, on the other hand, has had a tough start to their season. They have lost four out of six games and are a far cry from the team that was qualifying to Liguillas in previous tournaments. Fans have been quick to accuse their owners, TV Azteca, of abandoning the team in favor of Atlas, the other team they own. The Rojinegros are currently sixth and appeared to have received better reinforcements than their Morelia counterparts. The criticism has even led to Morelia’s president, Alvaro Davila, to speak out and talk about how the criminal element surrounding the state of Michoacan, where Morelia is the capital city and has been right at the heart of the drug war, has made it difficult for players to want to come play for them.
It’s not clear if Morelia can save their season, but they are definitely not favored against Monterrey. Unless Monterrey’s away problems come into fruition again, it’s looking like the team that has been accused of having the weakest squad of the two TV Azteca teams will not able to see any improvement in their record against one of the best squads in all of Mexico.
Date: Friday, February 15
Time: 5:00pm Pacific, 7:00pm Central, 8:00pm Eastern
Venue: Estadio Morelos, Morelia, Mexico
TV: Univision Deportes Network (US-Spanish), Sky HD (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)