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Pachuca welcome Mexican giants Cruz Azul to Estadio Hidalgo on Thursday for the first-leg of their clash in the 2021 Clausura semi-final of the Liga MX.
The Gophers are one step closer to clinching their first title in five years, having caused a huge upset with the ouster of Club America in the last round.
Even though the sides ended up with a 5-5 scoreline on aggregate, the former progressed on away goals and now have another tough nut to crack.
Cruz Azul, winners of the league phase, are looking to end a drought of their own, with their last title coming way back in 1997.
However, they'll have to slog it out too as a hard-fought victory over Toluca in the last round exposed plenty of frailties in Juan Reynoso's side.
Pachuca vs Cruz Azul Head-To-Head
In 48 games between the sides, Cruz Azul have been the more dominant side with 23 wins, while Pachuca have beaten them on 16 occasions.
However, their last clash in January ended with a 1-0 victory for La Máquina in this very fixture.
Pachuca Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-L
Cruz Azul Form Guide (all competitions): W-D-W-L-W
Pachuca vs Cruz Azul Team News
Pachuca
Pachuca have no known injuries ahead of the clash as manager Paulo Pezzolano has the whole squad at his disposal.
However, he may opt to make a few changes to his lineup, which lost 4-2 to Club America in the second leg of their quarter-final encounter. Luis Chavez and Antonio Figueroa are likely to come into the side again.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Cruz Azul
Juan Reynoso's squad also have a clean bill of health with no key injuries or suspensions.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Pachuca vs Cruz Azul Predicted XI
Pachuca (4-4-2): Oscar Ustari; Matias Catalan, Gustavo Cabral, Oscar Murillo, Kevin Alvarez; Felipe Pardo, Erick Sanchez, Jorge Hernandez, Erick Aguirre; Romario Ibarra, Roberto de la Rosa.
Cruz Azul (4-4-2): Jesus Corona; Juan Escobar, Julio Dominguez, Pablo Aguilar, Adrian Aldrete; Orbelin Pineda, Luis Romo, Guillermo Fernandez, Roberto Alvarado; Bryan Angulo, Jonathan Rodriguez.
Pachuca vs Cruz Azul Prediction
Cruz Azul, given their history and the sheer amount of quality in the squad, are the obvious favorites here.
However, the Gophers are no pushovers, having driven out Azul's arch-rivals Club America in the last round, scoring five goals.
It will be a high-intensity encounter but one which might not produce as many goals. We're going with a low-scoring score draw, with everything to play for in the return leg.
Prediction: Pachuca 1-1 Cruz Azul
