We have reached the quarterfinal stages in the Primera Division de Mexico playoffs when the top four teams from the regular season get involved. Here, we’ll take a look at our favorite Liga MX predictions for the weekend.
The top four teams now join the four winners of the ties involving the teams that finished 5th to 12th in the league. Puebla and Club Leon and Santos Laguna and Tigres de la Unal meet on Thursday and Sunday. The first legs of Pumas UNAM vs Club America and Monterrey vs Atlas ended goalless which sets up the second matches with both ties in the balance.
Club America vs Pumas UNAM
| Bet | Odds |
| Club America to win | -170 |
| Draw | +250 |
| Pumas to win | +460 |
Club America play the second leg at home on Saturday because they finished in the top four in the league and their opponents had to play in the first round of the playoffs. Club America finished 10 places and 14 points better off than Pumas UNAM during the regular season. They had the better goal difference by exactly one goal per match. They look worthy favorites to win this fixture after securing a 0-0 draw at Estadio Olimpico Universitario in Mexico City on Wednesday.
The corresponding meeting during the first stage of the championship produced a 2-0 home win for Club America. A similar result would be expected in this fixture which secures the hosts a place in the semi-finals of the playoffs. However, America enjoyed only 54% of the possession and the shot count was 12 to 10 in their favor. The match was only decided deep into stoppage time when America scored the match-clinching second goal.
Pumas UNAM won the shot count 14-3 in the first leg and won five corners when their opponents won just one. A narrow first-leg lead would have been fair based on the statistics. Even so, not conceding at home was a positive, and Pumas UNAM can avoid defeat in the second leg which we tip to end as a draw after 90 minutes.
Liga MX Pick – Club America vs Pumas UNAM Draw at +270 with PointsBet
Atlas vs Monterrey
| Bet | Odds |
| Atlas to win | +145 |
| Draw | +195 |
| Monterrey to win | +195 |
Atlas has the home advantage in this second leg tie because they finished about Monterrey in the regular-season standings. There were seven places and seven points ahead at the end of the 17-match league schedule. Atlas had a better goal difference of eight over 17 fixtures so that’s just below half a goal a match variance in the goals each team scored and conceded. Atlas won four home league matches but Monterey only secured maximum points in one match on the road.
The first fixture in Monterrey was a tight affair that produced just four shots on target, three of those from Atlas. However, the home team enjoyed 55% of the possession and won the corner count by seven to three. Even so, Atlas never came under too much pressure, and returning to Guadalajara with a draw was achieved with relative ease. They should confirm that impression by winning the second match by more than one goal.
Liga MX Pick – Atlas -1 handicap goal vs Monterrey at +450 with PointsBet
