The quarterfinals of the Liguilla 2022 of the Liga MX opening tournament are already history. We have the 4 best teams in the championship fighting hard to get a place in the final; and be that much closer to glory in Mexican soccer.
América, Monterrey, Pachuca, and Toluca will be the teams looking for their ticket to play in the final. The spotlight of favoritism has immediately fallen on América, due to the regularity and high effectiveness it demonstrated in the two games against Puebla; as it showed no mercy and crushed their rivals with an aggregate score of 11-2.
The rest of the teams will try to overshadow the team that, with 106 years of history, plans to widen the difference in titles between them and the rest of the Liga MX teams. However, the Diablos Rojos, who put an end to a long absence from the semifinals, will seek to surprise; while Tuzos and Rayados meet again to add one more elimination round to their historic rivalry.
The matches to find the finalists of the Apertura 2022 will begin this Wednesday in Toluca with the visit of the mighty Águilas; who on Saturday will try to do the same and advance to the dispute for their 14th title.
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For their part, the Tuzos will host Rayados on Thursday, and on Sunday they will play in Monterrey, where the final of the lightning tournament, which was played with a tight schedule so that the selected teams can be available for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, will be defined.
It should be noted that, if the teams maintain a tie in the overall series; the teams with the best position in the general classification table will advance to the Final. This gives a considerable advantage to América and Monterrey, who finished the regular phase in first and second place, respectively.
The following is a preview of the matches on the first day of the semifinals of the Liguilla 2022.
Liga MX: Liguilla Semifinals – Preview – Toluca vs. América – Info
When: Wednesday, October 19 at 10:06 pm ET
Moneyline odds: Toluca +285 / América -110 (Source: MyBookie.ag)
Draw Offs: +280
Where Can I Watch it? Fox Sports / TUDN / ViX
Toluca and Club América will play this Wednesday, October 19, 2022, in the first leg of the Apertura 2022 semifinals in a match that promises many chances and goals if we take into account the offensive tendency of both teams. This match will be at the Estadio Nemesio Diez, home of Toluca, at 10:06 pm ET.
The data speaks for itself with Toluca accumulating four consecutive matches above 2.5 goals; and América, which between official and friendly matches, has 11 matches above two goals.
These two teams have faced each other 10 times in the Liguilla’s defining phases, with América winning four series, while Toluca won five of them, counting only the direct elimination duels, as in the format we know today.
Toluca, coached by Ignacio Ambriz, finished the regular tournament in sixth place, which led them to play in the playoffs against Juárez, whom they defeated with a comfortable 3-0 score. In the quarterfinals, they had a much more complicated series, but still won both games of the series against Santos Laguna, with an overall score of 6-4.
The truth is that the Diablos Rojos have now gone six consecutive games without losing, the last four of which have been victories, and they need to impose their home advantage, seeking a victory in the first leg, to reach the rematch at the Azteca Stadium with peace of mind.
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On the other hand, we have the favorite team to win the title of champion of this 2022 opening tournament, América, which arrives at these semifinals after stomping, or rather, crushing Puebla in the quarterfinals, with an incredible score of 11-2.
The team coached by Fernando Ortiz has not taken its foot off the accelerator and continues to reap victories. With these results, América has now gone fourteen Liga MX games without losing, thirteen of which ended in victories, and they have won their last seven away games.
Now América wants to keep winning against Toluca, whom they have beaten in their last two games, with a 4-0 aggregate score, although Club América has had a hard time beating the Diablos Rojos in this stadium.
That said, our pick for this match is a 2-0 win for America.
Liga MX: Liguilla Semifinals – Toluca vs. América Betting Pick: América
Liga MX: Liguilla Semifinals – Preview – Monterrey vs. Pachuca – Info
When: Thursday, October 20 at 10:06 pm ET
Moneyline odds: Monterrey +265 / Pachuca +108 (Source: MyBookie.ag)
Draw Offs: +240
Where Can I Watch it? Fox Sports / TUDN / ViX
The Liguilla semifinals will be completed by a great match between Pachuca and Monterrey, which will be played this Thursday, October 20, 2022, at Estadio Miguel Hidalgo “Huracán”, home of Pachuca at 10:00 pm ET.
Pachuca and Monterrey are two of the most consistent teams in Liga MX. Both have completely different styles of play. Rayados is a balanced team that takes advantage of the spaces left by their opponents. The Tuzos, on the other hand, have a more offensive and aggressive style and are characterized by their vertigo. The clash of styles generates great expectations.
Although they could be considered as the shadow of America, who have given a footballing lesson in this tournament, Monterrey has also shown credentials that make them solid contenders for the championship title. Without going too far, Monterrey was just one of two teams to beat América so far in the Apertura 2022.
They finished the regular phase with 35 points, only behind América, and are coming into this match with an 8-game unbeaten streak. Their main strength has been their defense, as they have allowed the fewest goals to their rivals (13 in 19 matches), they have five unbeaten games and in 7 of those 8 unbeaten games, they have not conceded a goal.
In the quarterfinals of the Liguilla, they have just eliminated Cruz Azul, with whom they drew 0-0 in the first leg at the Azteca Stadium and who they thrashed 3-0 in the second leg at the BBVA Stadium.
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On the other hand, we have Pachuca, a team that managed the feat of coming from behind in the series after losing their first match in the quarterfinals against Tigres UANL, being the only team that was able to turn the score around in the quarterfinals. In the first leg, they lost 0-1 with a goal by Gignac, but they achieved an excellent 1-2 at home that allowed them to advance to these semifinals.
Pachuca has several strong points to highlight. First of all, their star striker Nicolás Ibañez has scored 11 goals so far in the opening tournament. The defense has been one of the best in the tournament, being the third team that has conceded the fewest goals. While they have the experience of being in these defining instances, as they are the current runners-up in Mexican soccer.
But they have a lot of dependence on their striker Ibañez, that is to say, in a match, he is the one who will dictate the course for his team.
That said, our pick for this match is a 1-0 win for Pachuca.
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