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Cruz Azul travel to Queretaro in their round 15 fixture of the Liga MX Clausura phase on Thursday.
With three games left to play in the regular season, the hosts, 17th in the league standings, still have an outside chance of making it into the playoffs for the final phase.
Cruz Azul, on the other hand, are very much in contention for direct qualification into the final phase as they trail fourth-placed Monterrey by just a point. They dropped points for the second game in a row as they fell to a 1-0 loss at home to Guadalajara last time around.
Queretaro were denied a win right at the death against Santos Laguna in their previous outing as the game ended in a 1-1 draw, courtesy of Jordan Carrillo's goal in the penultimate minute of injury time.
Queretaro vs Cruz Azul Head-to-Head
The two clubs have crossed paths 35 times across all competitions so far. The capital club hold a narrow 16-12 advantage in wins and seven games have ended in draws.
Though Cruz Azul have been victorious in the last two games in the fixtures, they have faced defeats in their last two trips to Queretaro. Los Gallos Blancos boast a solid home record against the visitors, securing four wins in their last six games at Thursday's venue.
Queretaro form guide (Liga MX): D-L-D-W-L
Cruz Azul form guide (all competitions): L-D-D-L-W
Queretaro vs Cruz Azul Team News
Queretaro
Veteran midfielder Osvaldo Martínez suffered an ACL injury in October and, due to a lengthy recovery period, was not registered to play in the competition this season.
Injuries: Osvaldo Martínez
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Cruz Azul
Carlos Rodriguez will be out for at least a month with a leg injury while goalkeeper Jesús Corona continues to remain sidelined with a knee injury.
Injured: Carlos Rodriguez, Jesús Corona.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Queretaro vs Cruz Azul Predicted XIs
Queretaro (4-3-3): Washington Aguerre (GK); Daniel Cervantes, Maximiliano Perg, Kevin Balanta, Érik Vera; Pablo Barrera, José Enrique Angulo, Juan Bautista Romagnoli; Ángel Sepúlveda, Jefferson Montero, Leonardo Sequeira
Cruz Azul (4-2-3-1): Sebastián Jurado (GK); Alejandro Mayorga, Pablo Aguilar, Luis Abram, Juan Escobar; Erik Lira, Rafael Baca; Uriel Antuna, Christian Tabó, Ignacio Rivero; Santiago Gimenez
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Queretaro vs Cruz Azul Prediction
Both sides have just one win to their names in their last five outings. Cruz Azul have a slightly better goalscoring record this term with 19 goals to their name, while the hosts have scored just 12 times this season.
La Máquina are also the better side defensively, conceding 16 goals against the 18 let in by the home side. Both sides have struggled in their recent games and both sides will likely settle for a draw in this game.
Prediction: Queretaro 1-1 Cruz Azul
