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Monterrey-Mexico City clashes top Matchday 7 slate

By Thomas Buckley

Monterrey sharpshooter Rogelio Funes Mori has found it tough to find space in the early going of the Clausura 2020 season. The striker needs to find the net to help the Rayados escape the cellar. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Monterrey sharpshooter Rogelio Funes Mori has found it tough to find space in the early going of the Clausura 2020 season. The striker needs to find the net to help the Rayados escape the cellar. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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Monterrey-Mexico City clashes
Cruz Azul defender Pablo Aguilar, right, defends against Tigres striker André-Pierre Gignac. The rugged defender will miss the rest of the season after tearing a knee ligament on Tuesday. (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images) /

Struggling preseason favorites Tigres visit Cementeros

The Cementeros begin life without defensive stalwart Pablo Aguilar this weekend when the Tigres pay a visit to Estadio Azteca. Aguilar suffered a knee injury late in Cruz Azul’s Concacaf Champions League match in Jamaica on Tuesday.

Cementeros coach Robert Siboldi was already mixing-and-matching on defense because Igor Lichnovsky re-injured a troublesome ankle. That leaves only Julio César Domínguez as a first-choice back-liner, but one solution is to slide midfielder Luis Romo back alongside “Cata” in central defense. Romo switched between midfield and central defense last season with Querétaro, but he has been a revelation as a holding midfielder so Siboldi will miss him in front of the back line.

The Tigres are also thin at the back. Defenders Hugo Ayala, Diego Reyes, Jorge Torres Nilo and Francisco Meza are unavailable so coach “Tuca” Ferretti is likely to opt for a Carlos Salcedo-Guido Pizarro pairing in front of goalie Nahuel Guzmán. Pizarro – normally a holding midfielder – has played defense the past two Tigres’ games.

Both teams had midweek international engagements but neither club acquitted themselves well. The Tigres were embarrassed in their Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 match at El Salvador’s Alianza. Cruz Azul scored twice in injury time to claim a dramatic 2-1 win at modest Portmore United in Jamaica.

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Ferretti was visibly annoyed during his team’s 2-1 loss, especially the loss of composure among veteran Tigres. And erstwhile national teamers Javier Aquino and Luis “Chaka” Rodríguez were particularly ineffective.

Cruz Azul will enter Saturday’s contest on a 4-game unbeaten streak that has seen the Cementeros climb into sixth place. The Tigres find themselves in 10th place and have lost all three road games this season, outscored to the tune of 1-5.

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