Match details:

Pachuca vs Santos Laguna

Date: 27th April 2021

Time: 07:30 AM

Venue: Estadio Hidalgo

Competition:  Liga MX

Preview:

In this fixture, we will see the 15th placed Pachuca host Santos Laguna who are 5th in the table. In their last league game, Pachuca played against Monterrey & ended up with a 0-1 win away from home. The game was filled with drama involving VAR, penalty appeals and player bookings. In the end, both teams had to share the spoils. Meanwhile, Santos Laguna played Toluca in the league & had a 3-1 win at home. Toluca played good attacking football in the game, but Santos were more clinical in finishing off their chances. We expect both teams to score in this game with Santos being the favorites by a small margin.

Key stats & info:

• Pachuca are experiencing a good run of form as they have 3 wins, a draw & a loss in the last 5 games.
• Santos Laguna have been inconsistent as they have 2 wins, a draw & 2 losses in the last 5 games.
• Their recent head-to-head is all square. In a total of 28 recent meetings between the two sides Pachuca have won 8, Santos Laguna have won 8 & 12 have ended in a draw.

Expected XI

Pachuca

Carlos Moreno (GK), G. Cabral, O. Murillo, E. Aguirre, K. Álvarez F. Pardo, L. Chávez, F. Figueroa, I. Sosa, E. Sánchez, R. De La Rosa.

Santos Laguna

Carlos Acevedo (GK), Dória, J. Isijara, E. Preciado, A. Cervantes, F. Torres, R. Prieto, O. Campos, F. Otero, E. Aguirre, S. Muñóz .

Key players:

Sosa (PAC): The 34-year old Argentinian national joined Pachuca in 2019. Sosa starts a forward or a winger. He plays quick passes to navigate through while moving the ball forward into potentially dangerous areas, playing off the wide areas to either drop crosses or cut inside. His cross deliveries are excellent & he has a clinical finishing inside the box. This season he has scored 5 goals & assisted 1 in the Liga MX.

Munoz (SAN): The 18-year old Mexican youngster joined Santos Laguna from their academy. Munoz is deployed as striker upfront leading their attack. He is a fine dribbler & has excellent technical skill on the ball. He is also great with dropping in deep to pick up the ball & then thread key passes. In front of the goal, he averages 1.3 shots per game & has a conversion rate of 21%. His performance against Toluca was key to Santos’ win as he got a triple assist in the game. Overall he has 3 goals and 3 assists in the Liga MX Clausura.

Otero (SAN): The 25-year old Columbian national plays as a striker or a winger. He is used as their outlet through wide channels on the right side. He is an excellent ball carrier with good pace & finesse to shake off defenders. He averages 7.8 duels won per game & makes 1.5 dribbles per game. He has an immense work rate allowing him to be mobile across the pitch. Otero likes to cut inside in search of an available teammate or an opportunity at goal. He has registered 2.9 shots per game & makes 1.3 key passes per game. His tally for the 2021 campaign stands at 3 goals & 3 assists in Liga MX Clausura. Ortero had a good game against Toluca as he made 3 key passes & got away 2 shots. His goal was brilliant as he picked on the deflected ball from Munoz & fired it into the top-far corner curling the ball away from the keeper.

Captain & vice-captain picks: 

• I Sosa
• R de la Rosa
• R Figueroa
• S Munoz
• J Ortero
• E Aguirre

Source for Stats:

https://www.transfermarkt.co.in/

https://www.whoscored.com/

https://int.soccerway.com/

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are of the author and is not a reflection of the actual points you might earn