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Pumas will hope to go back to their winning ways in Liga MX when they face Veracruz at home. Pumas already went back to their winning ways in Copa MX after their 1-0 victory on Tuesday against Potros UAEM. That victory wasn’t a great performance however, and there is a lot of risk against Veracruz. While Pumas looks to be the prime candidate to get a home win, with Veracruz’ current streak of 30 games without a win, anything but a convincing win by Pumas might spiral the team out of control and will increase the hostility towards the team. Veracruz also has stifled Pumas in their last two visits to Mexico City, with a 2-1 shocking win in the Clausura 2018 and a 0-0 draw in the first game of last season.
Pumas had a strong start in terms of results with two wins, away to San Luis and at home against Necaxa. Things went a little sour after a home loss to Tigres, but Pumas had great results and the case can be made that mistakes by the referee in that game cost Pumas the game. But nobody was to blame for their last Liguilla game, when they went away to Tijuana and clearly lost. Still, Pumas did sort of improve in the second half, but their lack of dangerous chances are a reason for concern. Pumas did stop their streak with their Copa MX win against Potros UAEM, but it wasn’t a good performance and Pumas still looks to be in somewhat of a funk. A win against Veracruz is a must, and not doing so will place a lot of pressure on Pumas a new coach Michel.
Veracruz are in a middle of a disastrous streak. With a streak of 30 games without a win and with their last away game two weeks ago ending with a 7-0 loss against Necaxa, things look bleak for them. That said, they did improve in their last game at home against Atlas and many fans thought they were unlucky not to get a better result. They also have a good streak against Pumas at the Olimpico Universitario. In 2018, they shocked the Pumas of David Patiño and Nico Castillo with a midweek 2-1 victory off two goals from Diego Chavez. Then in the first game of 2019, they were able to get a 0-0 tie under similar that the ones they will face on Sunday. Pumas might be pressured if they don’t get a result fast over a team that has looked better than last season. Then again being better than a season where they ended with the worst record in Liga MX history isn’t a grand feat.
Date: Sunday, August 18
Time: 10:00am Pacific, 12:00pm Central, 1:00pm Eastern
Venue: Estadio Olimpico Universitario, Mexico City, Mexico
TV: Univision (US-Español), TUDN USA (US-Español), ESPN2 (Mexico), TUDN (Mexico), Canal de las Estrellas (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)
Listings via LiveSoccerTV.com