- Team form: Santos have lost 9, drawn 3 and won 2 Clausura games to sit bottom of the league table.
- Opponents form: CF Atlas Guadalajara have won 5, drawn 4 and lost 5 of their 14 Clausura games to be hovering around 7th-8th place.
- Head-to-head: The last four Liga MX meetings between the sides have been close, with both teams getting results, although Atlas won the two most recent home fixtures.
Tapia’s tasks are tough for Santos
Overview
Omar Tapia’s job as interim Santos Laguna Mexico boss has been to try and stop the leaks in the defense and get his side scoring regularly enough to win games but, with just two wins from 14 Clausura matches to his name, he is yet to show any improvement.
La Laguna’s 4-2 defeat at Pachuca and 1-1 home draw against América were not the ideal way to begin the week and continued a pattern of leaking goals while scoring inconsistently.
Injuries
Santos’ best players are still absent through injury, notably leading forward Anthony Lozano, who is sidelined with a knee injury. Midfielder Carlos Gruezo, who is the engine of their side, is also a doubt due to a hamstring issue, leaving Tapia’s side without some of their backbone.
Tactics
Santos Laguna’s 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formations rely on full-backs overlapping and fast forward play in the transition phase to create chances, but Tapia has made them more pragmatic and reactive.
Atlas have good reason to be positive
Form and system
CF Atlas Guadalajara have had a stop-start Clausura campaign but Diego Cocca’s pragmatic style and disciplined set-up has kept them in contention for a direct playoff berth.
The Argentine boss sets up in a 4-3-3 system that is compact in defense and has a strong midfield presence, allowing the wingers and central striker to make fast and accurate runs in behind. The pressure of their pressing game has been key to keeping games close and giving them a chance to break through.
Head-to-head and momentum
They have won 3-0 and 1-0 at home in their last two meetings with Santos, who took a 2-0 home win and 2-2 draw from the corresponding fixture in the last two seasons.
Those head-to-head wins have put Atlas in a good position to finish in a playoff place and they will be desperate to keep that momentum going against a poor Santos side.
Sides could be evenly matched
Coaches and lineups
Atlas boss Cocca is an experienced coach who knows how to get his players to keep it tight and make a game cagey, but he is also positive enough to get forward and finish off opponents.
Santos’ better players are out with injury and Tapia is finding it tough to settle on a lineup that will work for the remainder of the season.
Market and prediction
The odds suggest the slight edge for the visitors to take the win at 2.62 with Santos at 2.45 and the draw at 3.45, but our prediction is for the game to be close and for Atlas to edge it.
Both teams to score is the best bet at 1.58 but we are taking Under 2.5 goals at 2.04 as our main bet for this match, which should not be a high-scoring affair as Atlas are solid at the back and Santos are struggling.
The visitors will probably edge it because they are a more solid unit with a better coach and key players returning to the squad for the final run-in.
Key players
- Mateo García and Gustavo Ferrareis can play in midfield and out wide, bringing fresh energy and quality to the lineups, while Uroš Djurdjević remains their main scorer and biggest threat.
- Diego González and Arturo González can chip in with goals and assists when the Serbian striker is marked out by opposition defences, while Cristian Dájome is Santos’ main outlet at the moment, consistently creating chances and registering goals and shots on target this season.
Match conditions
The warm evening in Torreón should ensure that the game is played at a fast pace and in a physical manner that could test the depth of both squads.
