Clasico Tapatio match preview: Atlas vs Chivas

Atlas and Chivas will face each other in another edition of the Clasico Tapatio, the local derby of Guadalajara. It will be a match of two teams who have had disappointing starts, although one is clearly worse than the others as Atlas sits at four straight losses. Atlas also sits at the low end of this particular match, as they have lost three straight games against Chivas and hasn’t scored a goal against them since the Clausura 2018.

Chivas season is finally looking bright after a very disappointing start for a team that their fans considered to be a candidate to win it all. Chivas got a win on opening day and then failed to do so for a while, with a considerable low level of play and turmoil in and out of the playing field. Chivas finally got another win against Xolos of Tijuana two weeks ago by a score of 1-0. Still Chivas barely won that game even when they were up a man for the majority of the game. Xolos should have tied the game when they had a penalty kick in the second half, but Bryan Angulo hit the post with it and Chivas held on. But last week they finally got a second win with a good performance over Leon to get a deserved 2-0 lead. Now Chivas will be heavily favored even when it’s technically the away team, with an Atlas team doing even worse. Chivas has not only won the last three games against Atlas but in 2019, all four goals scored in the game were scored by Alexis Vega. Still Chivas should know that they are not out of the woods and it will be a tough match.

Atlas has been a total disappointment so far. Because of it they got rid of their Coach Leo Cufre and signed Rafael Puente. With Puente, Atlas has lost the last four games and Puente made some remarks that got a lot of the Mexican press against him. So not only does Atlas have a three game losing streak against Chivas but they currently sit on a four game losing streak. Atlas will be the home side, but they need to improve a lot as they currently look toothless in attack like they did in their last game against Santos (a 1-0 loss). To make matters worse Luciano Acosta, who is one of their key offensive players, had several tough accusations during the week which might mean that he might not be available. Still Chivas hasn’t been playing great until last week and although this might mean that they woke up at the perfect time, it could also mean that Chivas might be overconfident and prime for getting surprised.

Atlas and Chivas will have a tough matchup. Although both teams are struggling, the game is a Clasico and thus every Clasico is a tough match regardless of how they look in other games. Chivas should be favored as they are doing better and they have Alexis Vega, the guy who scored all the goals in 2019’s 3-0 and 1-0 victories over Atlas. If Rafa Puente can finally get his team to rise, they might surprise Chivas but otherwise even his job might be in danger.

Game: Club de Fútbol Rojinegros S.A. de C.V. vs. Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A de C.V.

Date: Saturday, March 7th

Time: 10:06 p.m. Eastern, 9:06 p.m. Central, 7:06 p.m. Pacific, 2:06 a.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Jalisco (Guadalajara, Jal.)

Referees: REF: Jorge Isaac Rojas Castillo, AR1: Jose Ibrahim Martinez Chavarria, AR2: Miguel Angel Chua Ortiz, 4TH: Karen Hernández Andrade

Television: United States - Univision, TUDN; Mexico - Fox Sports 2 Cono Norte, Azteca 7

Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription), TUDN En Vivo