Preview: Atlas vs Pachuca

By: Alan | November 14th, 2008

Tomorrow, Atlas will enter the estadio Hidalgo and play Pachuca in their last regular season game, and Atlas will be looking for a win, followed by a miracle to enter the big dance knows as la liguilla. Atlas is currently in 4th place in group 3 with 21 points and a goal differential of -4.

Now, here’s where it gets fun, this is the road map to what needs to happen for Atlas to make the liguilla:

Atlas must first beat Pachuca – without the three points from that game God himself couldn’t appear on earth and make Atlas advance to the liguilla
Tigres must lose – Tigres is ahead of Atlas in the general table and currently has 23 points, which means Atlas could pass them if they lose. If Tigres ties their game, Atlas would be out on goal differential unless they win their game by 9+ goals
Cruz Azul must lose – Cruz Azul is another team that is just barely ahead of Atlas in the general table, as with Tigres, an Atlas win and a Cruz Azul loss would see the roles reversed and put Atlas ahead and in the liguilla
Chivas musn’t win – Chivas is sitting in 5th place of their group but are ahead of Atlas by 1 point which means Chivas could tie and if the above holds true still see themselves out of the liguilla
Tecos must get one point or less – Tecos actually have two games in the season left because of earlier postponed games, which means that they have two chances to enter the liguilla, in order for Atlas to advance they need Tecos to come out of both games with a maximum of one point
America mustn’t win – America will play on Sunday and therefore will have the advantage of knowing how the dust settled before they play Necaxa. A loss by America is the last piece that Atlas would need to advance to the liguilla

So you’re telling me there’s a chance…

So, now you know everything that must happen for Atlas to enter the liguilla, so start crossing your fingers, lighting your veladoras and making promises to the deity of your choice.

My Prediction: Atlas 2 – 0 Pachuca
FIFA 09 Prediction: Atlas 0 – 0 Pachuca