Morelia
- Morelia enter the playoffs as the 3rd-place seed.
- Morelia finished the Clausura in 3rd place, but entered the playoffs on a run of 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats in their last 5.
- Morelia are a typical Mexican defense-first side that Mario Ortiz likes to set up in a 5-4-1 block, with the wing backs providing width in a compact shape.
- The home side are disciplined and make their money in transition, relying on Rubén del Campo and Alonso Flores to run at the opposition in numbers with the ball.
Mineros de Zacatecas
- Mineros de Zacatecas enter the quarterfinals in better form, with 3 wins, 1 draw and just 1 defeat in their last 5.
- Mineros are a more free-flowing, but still balanced 4-4-2 side, with Muñoz favouring a disciplined approach in which his side press and use the ball quickly to get it to their two strikers.
- Mineros make their hay in central duels and on the counter, so this should be a chess match between the two strikers and Morelia’s five-man defensive block.
- Mineros have found a real rhythm in recent weeks with Mauro Pérez scoring a couple of important goals and bringing some directness to their play.
Head-to-Head
- Recent encounters in the Liga de Expansión MX between these sides have often ended level or with minimal margins.
- Mineros have a recent advantage in the head to head with 4 wins to Morelia’s 3 and 7 draws from 14 meetings across all competitions since 2020.
- This is typically a close fixture between two very evenly matched sides and Mineros’ variety in the final third could prove the difference.
Key Players
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Morelia:
- Del Campo is their main goal threat, notching 6 for the Clausura, but Morelia will struggle to score if opponents can neutralize the striker.
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Mineros:
- Mauro Pérez has scored a couple of important goals recently.
- Pablo Padilla and Jesús Francisco López provide the creativity for Zacatecas and both have contributed to the scoresheet in recent matches.
Betting Insights
- Morelia enter the playoffs as the 3rd-place seed and are slight favorites with the bookies at 1.87 to take the quarter-final against 6th-placed Mineros De Zacatecas.
- Luis Muñoz’s men are 3.81 outsiders for this first leg with the draw coming in at 3.6.
- The hosts are expected to progress given the odds and their higher seed, but with Mineros in better shape and having more variety in attack, this tie could go the distance.
Prediction
The under 2.5 goals line is a favourite here and, given the history of this fixture, a low-scoring, cagey game for a quarterfinal spot is expected.
