Atletico San Luis vs. Cruz Azul Pick & Prediction MAR 18th 2023
Ethan Wilson
A duel that can raise a lot of tension: Cruz Azul vs Atlético San Luis
An excellent duel for those in need awaits us this Saturday 3/18, a day in which two teams with a similar present will face each other that urgently need a victory to climb some positions. On the one hand is Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti's Cruz Azul, who is in twelfth position with just 10 units in 9 games. And on the other is André Jardine's Atlético San Luis with his humble 9 points in 10 matches.
Although it is true that from the start it is not a game that promises many goals and situations in the 90's, the truth is that the urgency that both teams have to win will cause tension to be breathed from minute 1, since nobody wants to stay in the bottom of the championship.
Last matches of Cruz Azul
The last 9 matches played by Cruz Azul show a rather poor performance, and it is that out of all of them they were able to salvage only 10 units, winning only 3 times, drawing 1 and losing the remaining 5. However, if we only take the 5 most recent ones, they have won 3 and lost 2, so we could say that they have been showing a slight improvement despite the fact that it is not enough to take off from the lower half of the table. One of the toughest defeats was suffered recently against Mazatlán, which against all sports forecasts suffered a 3-1 with two assists from Benedetti. This fall was a very hard blow because Mazatlán is last with 4 units and Cruz Azul had just won the last 3 games. Although a comfortable victory or anything like that was not expected, losing 3-1 was something unexpected.
The defeat before that was against Toluca as visitors, also 3-1 but this time with a brace from Araújo. The 3 victories achieved were against Puebla 3-1 (goal and assist by Rodríguez), and two by the minimum against Atlas and the other against Juárez. In their last 9, they have scored 10 goals and conceded 13, which leaves a worrying negative balance of -3 goals.
Last matches of Atletico San Luis
If Cruz Azul needs a victory, then Atlético San Luis will go out on the field with more need to demonstrate, and that is that they have 1 point less and 1 game more than the cementers. In this way, in the 10 matches played they only scored 9 points, losing 5 times, drawing 3 and winning 2. Both victories obeyed what was indicated by the Mexico League predictions , as they happened against the weak Necaxa, 3-2 (Sanabria figure ), and Puebla with a 2-0 thanks to a goal from Güemez and an own goal from Gularte. However, they have not managed to get 3 points since the match against Puebla, which was played on February 3.
This harsh reality is something that greatly worries managers and especially their DT, who apparently is not capable of reversing the situation. Of the last 5 games they lost 4 and drew 1-1 against Santos Laguna. A positive result that went against the predictions of the Mexico League was that 0-0 against Tigres as a visitor, since they got a point in their visit to the stadium of the current second in the championship. Thus, they were able to convert just 8 goals and conceded 14, giving a very negative balance of -6 goals.
Background between both
The record between the two teams is far superior to Cruz Azul, and it is that they faced each other 20 times, 12 of which were for the Celestes, 6 for the formerly called Veracruz, and tied the remaining 2 opportunities. As bulky victories, we can mention the 5-1 in 2002 and the impressive 6-2 in 2004, two matches in which Cruz Azul broke sports forecasts by completely reducing its rival.
The magnifying glass on...
Those commanded by the legendary Tuca Ferretti have several interesting values among their squad, among which we highlight the attacking midfielder Carlos Rodríguez. This great 26-year-old player has been on the radar of important European teams in previous years, and it is even said that he is currently being sought by several clubs from the Old Continent. Besides him, another interesting midfielder is Uriel Antuna, who has 3 goals in the championship and is the team's top scorer. As for Rodríguez, he remains first among assisters with 3, and second among scorers with 2.
The magnifying glass on...
If we are talking about pillars of the Rojiblancos, it is impossible to ignore the presence of the Argentine Barovero in the goal. Despite conceding a lot of goals, he is one of those responsible for the defeats not being even bigger than they are. As for goals, the top scorer of the current campaign is Léo Bonatini, with 3 goals. Rodrigo Dourado is a midfielder who usually rounds off good games.
Sports bets
The sports bets are quite favorable to the Cementeros, and it is that their direct winner quota is valued at 1.9, the draw at 3.45 and the 3 points for San Luis in almost quota 4. Based on the background, a good option would be to play them directly or resort to the "double chance Cruz Azul-tie" since it pays 1.25 and can be good for an accumulator. If you think they could score 3 goals, then "+2.5 goals" pays almost 2 for every peso invested.
If you are interested in sports betting without a draw, then Cruz Azul's 0 handicap is worth 1.35 and that of its rival is almost 2.8. This means that if the one you bet on does not win, then you will get every penny back.
Next matches
As for La Máquina, they will face: Querétaro (V), Pachuca (V), León (V), América (L), Guadalajara (V), and Santos Laguna (L).
The rojiblancos will play against: Mazatlán (L), Pumas (V), Juárez (L), Pachuca (V), and will close their championship against Atlas as locals.
Schedules and television
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay: 8:00 p.m.
Bolivia and Venezuela: 7:00 p.m.
Colombia, Ecuador, the United States and Peru: 6:00 p.m.
Costa Rica and Mexico: 5:00 p.m.
Spain: 00hs.