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Santos Laguna will welcome Cruz Azul to the Estadio Nuevo Corona in a mid-table Liga MX clash on Saturday.
Both teams returned to winning ways in their previous outings. That win helped the hosts move into 11th place in the table. Cruz Azul's win helped them secure 10th place with eight points to their name, one more than the home team. It was just the second win of the campaign for either side.
Santos Laguna eked out a narrow 1-0 win over reigning champions Atlas thanks to Juan Brunetta's 60th-minute winner. Cruz Azul also secured a 1-0 win over Necaxa as Iván Morales bagged the winning goal in the 38th minute of the game.
Santos Laguna vs Cruz Azul Head-to-Head
There have been 61 meetings between the two sides across all competitions thus far. The fixture has been evenly contested between the two sides, with Cruz Azul having a narrow 25-22 lead in wins and 14 games have ended in draws.
Santos Laguna recorded a 2-0 win at the Estadio Azteca in their Clausura phase fixture in February, so La Máquina will be looking to return the favor here.
Santos Laguna form guide (all competitions): W-L-D-L-W
Cruz Azul form guide (all competitions): W-D-D-L-L
Santos Laguna vs Cruz Azul Team News
Santos Laguna
Ayrton Preciado has remained sidelined with a fracture since February and is a confirmed absentee for Guerreros. Matheus Doria did not take part in the training sessions earlier this week and is also expected to miss out on the MLS All-Stars vs Liga MX All-Stars game next week.
Injured: Ayrton Preciado, Matheus Doria
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Cruz Azul
Ramiro Funes Mori became a Cruz Azul player earlier this week but is not eligible to play for the club just yet. Julio César Domínguez and Alejandro Mayorga are dealing with injuries at the moment and did not travel to Torreón with the squad.
Injured: Julio César Domínguez, Alejandro Mayorga.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: Ramiro Funes Mori.
Santos Laguna vs Cruz Azul Predicted XIs
Santos Laguna (4-1-3-2): Carlos Acevedo (GK); Carlos Orrantia, Felix Torres, Omar Campos, Hugo Rodríguez; Alan Cervantes; Fernando Gorriaran, Juan Brunetta, Leonardo Suárez; Javier Marcelo Correa, Harold Preciado
Cruz Azul (4-2-3-1): Sebastian Jurado (GK); Ignacio Rivero, Jose Joaquin Martinez, Luis Abram, Juan Escobar; Erik Lira, Rafael Baca; Uriel Antuna, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez, Carlos Rotondi; Iván Morales.
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Santos Laguna vs Cruz Azul Prediction
Both teams have a goal difference of zero (0) at the moment. Cruz Azul have scored and conceded a couple more goals than the hosts but they have also played a game more than them, so there's little to separate the two sides at the moment.
With both teams picking up a win last time around, they'll be gunning to keep that momentum going. Both sides have been inconsistent thus far this season and will likely settle for a draw here.
Prediction: Santos Laguna 1-1 Cruz Azul
