Bold Predictions: Guard1anes 2020 Week 4

Three complete weeks are now gone in the Guard1anes 2020 season, and the top of the table is not arranged the way one would expect. There is a four-way tie for 1st place between América, Puebla, Cruz Azul, and Pumas. Two points behind them are Tigres and the surprising FC Juárez squad who have held their own so far. Besides that, the main story from Week 3 was the firing of two head coaches. Hard to judge a coach only three games into the season, but these are the kind of things that happen in Mexican Football. Luis Fernando Tena and Rafael Puente Jr. both became the first heads to roll after their teams’ poor start to the season, currently sitting 17th and 16th, respectively.

This week is a double-feature one, with Week 4 kicking off later on tonight in Aguascalientes, where Necaxa will host Mazatlán at 6 ET (5 CT). That said, we look into Week 4’s BOLD PREDICTIONS:

• León will win the battle of the brothers. Pachuca host León tonight at 8 ET (7 CT), in an all Grupo Pachuca brotherly matchup. Both teams have seen similar fates thus far, as they sit at 4 points in the league table, not displaying the football we know they’re capable of, especially León. I continue to look on in disbelief as Ambriz’s super-potent offense can’t find the back of the net, having scored only one goal through three matches. With so much quality up top, I simply can’t see this streak continuing much further. I expect Gigliotti, Campbell, and Montes to break out of their funk and win their first road game tonight in Estadio Hidalgo.
• FC Juárez extend Chivas’ drought. Tomorrow night, Bravos will play struggling Chivas who announced Victor Manuel Vucetich as their new head coach in place of Tena, but won’t be presented until Thursday. That means this ugly-looking squad has one more game to go until they undoubtedly begin their resurgence with such an experienced and accomplished head coach as “Vuce” is. I fully expect their confused and unintelligible style of play to continue on the road in Chihuahua ‘head-coach-less,’ combined with an impressive Juárez side so far who have weathered the storm and now begin to reap the fruits, superbly led by head coach Gabriel Caballero. The ‘fronterizos’ win tomorrow night.
• Cruz Azul will awake as ‘superlíderes’ Friday morning. Yes, it is a difficult prediction and one not many would agree with. What this means is that Cruz Azul will win their match in La Corregidora vs. Querétaro tomorrow afternoon, coupled with Puebla losing tonight in Estadio Universitario vs. Tigres, Pumas losing or drawing at home tomorrow vs. Rayados, and topped off with Santos taking at least a point in C.U. Thursday night vs. América. What I saw from Cruz Azul on Saturday vs. León has left me with nothing but respect toward Siboldi and the way he has kept this team motivated and more than anything, winning. I seriously believe Cruz Azul has entered the title-contender conversation, and is now the fourth team there, along with Rayados, Tigres, and América.