Guadalajara vs Cruz Azul: The Classic of Mexican Soccer

Whenever Guadalajara and Cruz Azul are about to face each other, the expectation of soccer fans in Mexico is higher than in many other games, as these are two of the teams with the most followers and also the most successful in history, although recently both have leaned more towards failure than success. Chivas is struggling not to be relegated and La Máquina has spent 17 years without winning the league and a year without competing in the playoffs.

The "Tapatíos" and "Cementeros" will meet for the sixth time on the grass of the Omnilife Stadium, a venue that celebrated its fifth anniversary last Thursday. The "Sacred Herd" has beaten the Cementers only once, having also lost to them once. Draws have prevailed in recent years between these teams, three of them at the stadium located in Zapopan, two of which ended without goals (Apertura 2010 and Apertura 2014).

It was precisely in a Guadalajara-Cruz Azul match that Chivas coach José Manuel "El Chepo" de la Torre made his debut in his first stint leading the team on March 18, 2006 at the Jalisco Stadium. The game ended 1-0 in favor of de la Torre's team, with a goal scored by Adolfo "El Bofo" Bautista. De la Torre and Chivas fans hope for a repeat of this scenario tomorrow, after the team's unfortunate debut last weekend with a 2-0 loss in Veracruz against the Tiburones Rojos.

But the task for "El Chepo" and his players will not be easy, as Cruz Azul, despite being recently defeated by Morelia, has more experienced players than Guadalajara and will want to erase the bad image left at the beginning of the tournament against the players from Michoacan and also take revenge for the previous tournament's defeat (1-2). This was the result that ended the capital team's undefeated streak, with two goals from Marco Fabián, who had been part of Cruz Azul during the two tournaments of 2014.

The match between the Rojiblancos and the Celestes will take place tomorrow at the Omnilife Stadium at 17:00. The referee for the match will be César Ramos.