Monday, March 5, 2012

Puddle's 2012 CCL Quarterfinal Preview


I want to point all of the Puddle's readers that are interested in MLS, Mexico Primera Division, and CONCACAF Champions League to an excellent article on FoxSoccer.com about the Mexican sides that will be participating in the last 8 of CCL. Eben Lehman does a great job hashing out the chances of each side. Check out the article HERE.


Also here's my take on the Quarter-Final matchups:


Morelia vs. Monterrey
The defending CCL Champs will probably be the underdog in this one. However, Humberto Suazo's in form return to the club should help bolster Monterrey and give them a better chance to defend their title. However, Morelia has been in great form and I'll give them the edge in this one. Might be tricky with the 2nd leg being at Monterrey though.

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Santos Laguna
The advantage that Santos is going to have here is that they're in midseason form, and are playing pretty well. Seattle is just coming off the end of preseason. Plus the second leg is in Mexico. I look for Seattle to put a up a great fight, but come up short. They must NOT let Santos secure an away goal, that will be a key. If they can come out of the Clink with a clean sheet, they'll have a much better chance. I'll take Santos though.

Toronto FC vs. LA Galaxy
I look for Toronto to be much improved this year, and to sew up their first MLS playoff spot. However, I just don't see them overcoming the Galaxy here. Tough draw for them, especially with the second leg being in LA. I think TFC is leaps and bounds better than before, but the Galaxy are just too good for this matchup.

UNAM Pumas vs. Isidro Metapan
Remember when the Rapids said Metapan were the weakest team in that group? Oops. Metapan could be a sleeper here. Pumas have not been all that great in league play, and were less than stellar at times in the CCL group stage. The winner of this series gets either Morelia or Monterrey, so while I think Metapan will takes this, I think it will ultimately be the winner of Morelia/Monterrey in the final.

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