Liga MX Apertura Semifinals Leg 2 Odds & Picks: Léon vs Guadalajara & Pumas vs Cruz Azul
- Playoff second leg ties at 10:00 pm ET Saturday and 7.30 pm ET Sunday
- Leon and Guadalajara drew-1-1 while Cruz Azul hammered Pumas 4-0
- See all odds and best bets for the Liga MX Apertura Semifinals Leg 2 below
Mexico’s Liga MX Apertura championship reaches its semifinal second leg stage this weekend with two second-leg ties.
Leon drew 1-1 with Chivas Guadalajara in their first leg meeting while Cruz Azul beat Pumas UNAM 4-0.
Leon vs Chivas Guadalajara
Club Leon will hope to make home advantage count when they meet Chivas Guadalajara in the playoff semifinal second leg on Saturday.
The tie is finely balanced after the teams drew 1-1 in the first leg in Guadalajara. Leon now holds an important away goal should the game finish level.
Leon vs Chivas Guadalajara Odds
| Matchup | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leon vs Chivas Guadalajara | LEO -1 (+123) | CHI +1 (-159) | LEO -150 | CHI +410 | DRAW +265 | Ov 2.5 (-109) | Un 2.5 (+121) |
Odds taken Dec 4 at DraftKings
Leon are rated as wide favorites to win the match at 10:00 pm ET and advance to the final after finishing top of the table in the competition’s regular season.
At DraftKings, Leon are priced at -150 for a victory with Guadalajara at +410. The spread offer for Leon to win by two or more goals is attractive at +123 (Asian Handicap -1), but the draw at +265 has value too.
It is Leon’s reputation for fast and fluid attacking football that makes them such firm favorites to progress. They are seeking their first Liga MX title since 2014.
They took the lead in the 38th minute of the first leg thanks to a goal from attacking full-back, Fernando Navarro.
Countdown to saturday starts NOW!
🔥💚😎#PorLeonésimaVez #OurPride 🦁 pic.twitter.com/nIBUylFaVs— Club Leon EN (@clubleon_en) December 3, 2020
Chivas equalized from a 52nd-minute penalty converted by Jose Macias.
However, Leon proved their dominance across the full range of match statistics – having 20 goal attempts to Guadalajara’s 10, for instance.
In the regular season, Leon finished with 40 points – eight ahead of second-placed Pumas UNAM.
Leon dominated possession with 62-percent of the ball compared to Guadalajara’s 38-percent. And they had 87 attacks in contrast to the 57 mounted by their opponents.
In the regular season, Leon finished with 40 points – eight ahead of second-placed Pumas UNAM.
They recorded 12 wins, four draws and only one defeat during their advance to the last eight of the playoffs.
They suffered a shock defeat in the first leg of the playoff quarterfinals when they were beaten 2-1 at Puebla, who were the lowliest qualifiers for the playoffs in the 12th position.
But they won the return match 2-0.
✍️ Here's the match recap of tonight's draw 👇👇👇https://t.co/Vh3aMAdzp0
— Chivas English (@ChivasEN_) December 3, 2020
Guadalajara was seventh in the regular season table – meaning they qualified for the playoff “re-classification” round in which the teams finishing fifth to 12th compete to reach the quarterfinals.
After a 1-0 defeat of Necaxa in this section, they overcame Club America in the last eight.
They won the first leg 1-0 and the return tie by 2-1 – with defender Christian Calderon scoring all three of Chivas’ goals.
Pick: Leon -1 (+123)
Pumas UNAM vs Cruz Azul
Cruz Azul pulled off a stunning 4-0 defeat of Pumas UNAM in the semifinal first leg and are favorites for a repeat victory away from home in the return leg on Sunday. As of this writing, only moneyline odds have been released so far for the match.
The hopes of Pumas reaching the final look crushed even though they were second-place finishers in the regular season.
Pumas UNAM vs Cruz Azul Odds
| Matchup | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pumas UNAM vs Cruz Azul | N/A | PUM +210 | CRU +120 | DRAW +245 | N/A |
Cruz Azul were fourth-placed finishers. At Draftkings, they are priced at +120 to win the second leg.
Pumas are rated at +210 which is a good value offer given that they have nothing to lose by playing adventurously. The draw after 90 minutes is an even better proposition at +245 at 7:30 pm ET.
Cruz Azul wrapped up their first-leg win inside 13 frantic opening minutes when they scored three times at the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City.
Midfielder Roberto Alvarado opened their account after just two minutes.
Fellow midfielder Rafael Baca then hit the target just six minutes later with defender Luis Barron getting the third in the 13th minute.
Santi Gimenez with a great pass to Romo, who makes it 4-0 to Cruz Azul. pic.twitter.com/4sveJauwgE
— MexNexGen (@MexNexGen2) December 4, 2020
Barron scored again five minutes into added time at the end after Alvarado had another effort disallowed.
Statistically speaking, the game was more even than the wide scoreline indicates.
Cruz Azul’s goalkeeper Jose Corona had to make four vital saves compared to only one from Pumas’ Julio Gonzalez.
Pumas had more possession at 60-percent compared to Cruz Azul’s 40-percent – proving that Cruz were highly effective when counter-attacking.
Both sides had an equal number of goal attempts at 12 each.
Cruz Azul’s goalkeeper Jose Corona had to make four vital saves compared to only one from Pumas’ Julio Gonzalez.
Hearing that Sebastian Saucedo (23) was invited to join the USMNT December camp. The winger had to decline the invite as PUMAS remains in Liga MX play offs. pic.twitter.com/bG1aqF8uiy
— OneGoal (@OneGoalUS) November 27, 2020
In the last eight, Cruz Azul were 3-1 winners over Tigres UANL before a 1-0 defeat in the second leg.
Pumas won 1-0 at Pachuca before a 0-0 draw in the second game secured their semifinal place.
There had been only one defeat, eight wins and eight draws as the gritty Pumas side finished second in the regular season table.
Cruz were fourth with nine wins, six defeats and two draws.
Pick: Draw +245
John Dillon is a leading member of the UK's sporting media, having spent three decades as a national newspaper soccer and sports writer, broadcaster and author. He has covered five World Cups, six European Championships and was Chief Sports Writer at the Daily Express for 14 years.
