On Thursday, May 23 at 10 pm EST is Mexico’s final, with Leg 1 of the Clausura Final between Cruz Azul and Club America, known as the Clasico Joven between these Mexico City rivals, Los Azules and Las Aguilas.
In the semifinals Cruz Azul won 1-0 in Monterrey in Leg 1 but lost 2-1 at home in Leg 2. In an odd playoff format, the teams were tied 2-2 after the two legs, but there’s no extra-time or penalties, and Cruz Azul advanced by being the higher seed in the table, 2nd compared to 4th.
For Club America, they drew Chivas 0-0 in Leg 1 and just edged out a 1-0 win back home in Leg 1 with Israel Reyes getting the only goal over the two legs.
Remember the Euros are coming up this summer! Get ready for this year’s tournament with your nation’s flag! Get yours today here!
Cruz Azul vs Club America Odds
Here are the odds for Leg 1 of the Clausura Final.
- Cruz Azul +162
- Draw +240
- Club America +162
- Cruz adv +175
- America adv -250
- Over 2.5 -106
- Under 2.5 -118
- BTTS Yes -143
- BTTS No +105
Cruz Azul vs Club America Head-to-Head
In the most recent meetings, America won 1-0 at home in February and America won 3-2 on the road in September.
They did also have a friendly in March, won at home 3-2 by Cruz Azul. But in competitive play, America has won 3 straight and has scored in 5 straight. The BTTS and Over 2.5 has also gone 3-1.
In the Clausura season, as mentioned, Cruz Azul were 2nd at 10-3-4, scoring 23 and allowing just 14 goals.
Their last game, the loss to Monterrey where they didn’t “need” to win, was their first loss in 8 games and just their 4th loss in 20 games. It does extend a streak of scoring though for Cruz Azul to 8 games, while they’ve also scored in 16/19 games.
The 3 games they didn’t were all road games. At home at Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes they’ve scored in 10 straight and in 17/18. Recent home games for Azul have been high scoring with scores of 2-1 (L), 2-2, 2-2, 2-1 (W), 2-1 (L) and 3-0 (W).
Club America was the only team to finish above Cruz Azul, 1st at 10-5-2. They scored 30 and their 12 GA also just edged out Cruz Azul for the best defense.
Those defeats were their only 2 across the Clausura and Apertura seasons, and they won the Apertura title as well.
Club America has no losses in 4, just 2 in 13 and just 3 losses in 20. In their last 31 games in all competitions, they’ve only failed to score 3 times, all road games, but that is where they’ll be here.
Bets on the Under 2.5 have gone 4-0 of late, but they have allowed a goal in 5/6 recent away games.
Cruz Azul vs Club America Prediction
Cruz Azul’s playoff scores have been a 2-0 win, 2-2 draw, 1-0 win and 2-1 loss.
Club America’s playoff scores have been a 1-1 draw, 1-1 draw (also benefitting from the tie0breaker for the higher seed rule), 0-0 draw and a 1-0 win.
This should be close in this derby and only 1 of the combined 8 playoff games between them have phave seen a team win by more than 1 goal.
For Cruz Azul vs Club America predictions, there are lots of home overs for Cruz Azul, lots of unders of late for Club America, and they’ve been conceding on the road. But both have been scoring and have long runs of getting on the scoresheet.
You always expect America to score. But Azul have only failed to score once in a home game versus America in the past 7 and if you want to throw in 2 friendlies, that would push it to 9.
Go for the bigger value of a draw if you’d like at +240 or the BTTS at -135 odds at Caesars for the Clausura Final picks.
Ryan Métivier is a seasoned editor, writer and communications professional with years of experience in all fields. When it comes to covering sports, he’s written for numerous outlets and organizations including the OHL, CHL, SportsXpress, Sports Betting Dime, Cleveland.com, MassLive, FanSided and others.
While he’ll always cheer for his hometown Toronto teams, when it comes to betting, his only allegiance is his bankroll. Ryan specializes in global soccer, the NFL and the NHL, but if there is a bet to be made, he’ll make it. As the founder of Shred The Spread, Ryan focuses on combining storylines, trends, analytics and good bankroll management to creating simple bets that make sense.
When not making a case for why both teams will score in an MLS soccer match, he can be found focusing his efforts on fitness, attempting to learn Spanish, cooking or planning his travel adventure.
