Betting Terms
This quarter of finals may not find Marathon in the best form of their lives (4 draws in the last 4 matches, though rather unlucky most of them, as they always take the lead and got equalized either by a penalty, either by a late goal). But this is the best chance for their redemption, because I know they treat the Champions League with very high passion, and always give their best in this competition. The Honduras champions have a very good record in this edition of the Concachampions, winning 3 out of 3 in the group stages, including a high profile win over Deportivo Toluca, and two 3-1 whoopings of DC United and San Juan Jabloteh. Their squad is on the good side (for Honduran level), as they usually give 6 players to their national team, and on their home ground it`s very difficult to win.
Young Pumas
In terms of form, the Mexicans are the opposite of Marathon, snatching 3 consecutive draws, with 8 goals scored to only 1 received, and they want to keep this going, especially now since they`ve moved up to a play-off position. And it looks like the mid-week Champions League match will only get in their way, so they have decided to rest almost all the players from the first team, and have sent to Honduras fringe players that don`t act regularly, along with lots of youngsters from their second team, Pumas Morelos (who is playing in the second division). They will still have a lot of experience in their squad, because of players like midfielder Ismael Iniguez, or veteran striker Francisco Palencia (36 year-old). But the rest of the players will be youngsters, or second division material, and being one of the few times they play together, I doubt there will be any `magic` between them.
Honduran advantage
I favor the hosts here, as I`m sure they will give their best, and they will look more like a team, against a second-to-third string Mexican side. And I also don`t count on Pumas players to die on the pitch, knowing there will be a return leg, and most probably the same players will feature in that match as well. Odds dropping big-time on the hosts, so I suggest to be fast. Good luck!
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Prediction:
Tip: 1 AH (0)
Odd: 1.70
Bookie: Bet365
Stake: 4 /10
Tipster: Kather
