Round 3 of the Liga MX Apertura 2022 takes place this weekend. On Sunday, Pumas UNAM welcome Club Necaxa the Olimpico Universitario.
The two sides are separated by a solitary point in the standings, with Club Necaxa leading Pumas UNAM. However, we are only two rounds into the new season.
¡Gracias por engalanar nuestro estadio con su presencia! 🏟🐾En México y CU siempre serán bienvenidos, @RCCelta. 👊#OrigenDeLaPasión #SoyDePumas #UNAMvsCelta pic.twitter.com/6WZpktcDmQ— PUMAS (@PumasMX) July 14, 2022
¡Gracias por engalanar nuestro estadio con su presencia! 🏟🐾En México y CU siempre serán bienvenidos, @RCCelta. 👊#OrigenDeLaPasión #SoyDePumas #UNAMvsCelta pic.twitter.com/6WZpktcDmQ
It goes without saying that both clubs will be eager to kick-start their Apertura campaigns on Sunday. Who will come out on top? It’s time to take a closer look at both the teams.
Let’s start by looking at the hosts, Pumas UNAM, who have registered draws against Club Tijuana and Club Leon so far this term.
After drawing 1-1 with Tijuana on the opening weekend, UNAM played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Leon in the previous round.
It is worth noting, however, that Pumas played against ten men for 70 minutes last time out. Despite racking up 55% possession and 17 shots, they failed to claim all three points.
Still, UNAM can take confidence from the fact that they have lost just one of their previous seven home games in the league.
Meanwhile, Club Necaxa suffered a 3-1 defeat to Deportivo Toluca in Round 1 before beating Queretaro 2-1 last time out.
Funnily enough, Milton Gimenez scored all three goals last weekend – bagging a brace as well as an own goal.
Thanks to a strong end to the previous campaign, Necaxa have only lost one of their past nine away encounters in Liga MX.
For that reason, the visitors will fancy their chances of frustrating UNAM when they travel to the Mexican capital this weekend.
Head-to-head: The recent head-to-head record between Pumas UNAM and Club Necaxa is notably even, with both sides winning three of the past seven meetings.
Given that five of the previous nine meetings between Pumas UNAM and Club Necaxa have dished up under 2.5 goals, a low-scoring game is on the cards on Sunday.
Team news: Pumas UNAM look set to be without centre-back Arturo Ortiz this weekend as he continues to recover from injury.
On the flip side, Club Necaxa are injury-free at the moment – meaning Jaime Lozana has a full-strength squad to choose from.
Given that Pumas UNAM and Club Necaxa have both made an indifferent start to the season, Sunday’s clash is likely to be a close-fought battle.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Pumas UNAM and Club Necaxa will play out a low-scoring draw in the capital.