Pachuca vs Unam Pumas Predictions

Sunday’s Liga MX Clausura action sees Pachuca and UNAM Pumas doing battle. The hosts arrive as big favourites to secure all 3 points on home soil.

After failing to make the playoffs in the Apertura and having been hammered 5-0 at Monterrey and 3-0 at Club America so far this year, Pachuca have sacked boss Pako Ayestaran and brought in Martin Palermo to replace him. Palermo certainly kicked off his reign well with a mid-week home win over Tijuana in the Copa MX and he’ll now be targeting maximum points in Sunday’s clash.

Palermo doesn’t inherit a bad squad and Pachuca do have some talented players, but the side have struggled for consistency, particularly on the road. Nonetheless, having won 9 of their last 15 home matches, scoring an average of 2.4 goals a game in the process, travel troubles won’t be a concern for this match and those taking to the pitch will be confident in getting the result required.

Meanwhile, visiting UNAM Pumas look to have been seriously affected by the 7-2 aggregate mauling they were handed by Club America in the Apertura semi-finals and have made a poor start to this closing stage. Home draws with Veracruz and Atlas as well as an away defeat to Necaxa has the side in less than convincing shape and improvement needs to be found swiftly if they are to be in playoff contention once again.

Nonetheless, Pumas are far from a powerhouse on the road and that has to be a real concern coming into this one. They’ve now lost 4 of their last 5 games on enemy territory and having conceded a big average of 2.6 goals a game in doing so, it’s more than apparent where problems lie.

Ultimately, this is a match Pachuca will view as winnable and if they are to make the top 8, it’s the kind of fixture they have to be winning. New boss Palermo will be hoping to inspire a sustained run of form and in front of the home crowd, you’d have to fancy the hosts to see off the visitors.

As such, backing a home win looks the smart way to play and is something we’re more than happy to do. For all their struggles, Pachuca have still won 3 of their last 4 matches and are very strong on home turf and for that reason, we see them edging a fragile Pumas outfit by a 2-1 margin of victory.