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Toronto FC welcome Cruz Azul to the Raymond James Stadium in Florida for the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
The hosts defeated Leon, a Liga MX side, in the previous round and now face 2020-21 Clausura leaders Cruz Azul. They have recorded one defeat and one draw in their MLS fixtures so far, with their most recent match against Canadian rivals Vancouver ending in a 2-2 draw.
The visitors recorded a massive 8-0 win in the previous round and secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Atletico San Luis in Liga MX action on Sunday.
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Toronto FC vs Cruz Azul Head-to-Head
The two clubs have met just twice in competitive fixtures. Those meetings also came during the CONCACAF Champions League 2010-11 campaign in the Group stage fixtures.
Cruz Azul are winless in these meetings, with one game ending in a win for the Reds and the second one ending in a goalless draw.
Toronto FC form guide across all competitions: D-L-W-D
Cruz Azul form guide across all competitions: W-D-W-W-D
Toronto FC vs Cruz Azul Team News
Toronto FC
The hosts have a lengthy injury list at the moment. They have Chris Mavinga, Alejandro Pozuelo, Ifunanyachi Achara, Liam Fraser, Julian Dunn and Erickson Gallardo ruled out with injuries.
They welcomed back Jonathan Osario and Jozy Altidore from injuries in their last game. The duo made an appearance from the bench and are in contention to start here.
Injured: Chris Mavinga, Alejandro Pozuelo, Ifunanyachi Achara, Liam Fraser, Julian Dunn, Erickson Gallardo
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Cruz Azul
La Máquina do not have any injury concerns ahead of this trip to Florida. Jesus Corona and Orbelín Pineda were absent from the squad in the Liga MX tie against Atletico San Luis. They were rested ahead of this game and were not ruled out because of an injury.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Toronto FC vs Cruz Azul Predicted XI
Toronto FC Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Alex Bono; Auro Junior, Omar Gonzalez, Luke Singh, Richie Laryea; Ralph Priso, Michael Bradley; Nick DeLeon, Marco Delgado, Noble Okello; Patrick Mullins
Cruz Azul Predicted XI (4-4-2): Jesus Corona; Juan Escobar, Pablo Aguilar, Julio Dominguez, Joaquin Martinez; Rafael Baca, Luis Romo; Roberto Alvarado, Guillermo Fernandez, Orbelin Pineda; Jonathan Rodriguez.
Toronto FC vs Cruz Azul Prediction
Cruz Azul have been in fabulous form since the beginning of the Torneo Guardianes 2021. After losing their first two games, they are unbeaten across all competitions since January.
Toronto FC have just one point from their two MLS games but have scored four goals in those two fixtures. They managed to pull off a win against Leon in the round of 16 second leg despite an injury crisis. However, Cruz Azul might prove too tough to beat.
Given the recent form of both teams, we predict a narrow win for the visiting side, who have been more prolific in their home games.
Prediction: Toronto FC 0-1 Cruz Azul
