Goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman (pictured) has won two Liga MX titles with Tigres. (Photo: Mexsport)
SAN NICOLAS DE LOS GARZA, Mexico – The 2017 Liga MX Apertura’s regular-season title will be decided Saturday, when first-place Monterrey (10W-4D-2L, 34) hosts local-rival and second-place Tigres (9-5-2, 32) in the 113th edition of the Clasico Regiomontano.
Both sides have already secured postseason spots, but that fact will not lessen the encounter’s intensity.
“Coming up is one of the most important games of the regular season,” said Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman. “I think that at the local and national level, it is one of the best matches to watch and play.”
According to the 31-year-old custodian, Tigres would like nothing more than to walk out of Monterrey’s home – the Estadio BBVA Bancomer -- with all three points and the top seed in the Liguilla.
“For the fact that they’ve been leading the season standings this whole time, it is a match in which the Rayados have more to lose than Tigres,” he remarked. “On Saturday, there exists the possibility that they lose the top spot to us, so we have more to win than to lose.”
The thought that the stadiums of the Liga MX’s two top teams are located less than seven miles from each other is not lost on the Argentinean.
“It speaks well of this city’s football,” finished Guzman. “Above all, there is a reality that the two clubs have great potential. We are two well-armed teams, both prepared to go far in the best position possible.”
In their last five meetings, Tigres holds a 3-1 advantage in wins over Monterrey. The sides faced off in the Liga MX 2017 Apertura quarterfinals, with UANAL prevailing, 6-1 on aggregate.
