Preview: Toluca vs. Santos Laguna - prediction, team news, lineups

At the top of the Liga MX Apertura table after eight rounds, Toluca welcome Santos Laguna to Nemesio Diez Stadium in gameweek nine, aiming to maintain their position after Sunday night’s match.

Antonio Mohamed’s side have remained unbeaten at La Bombonera following a false start against Pumas in July, winning three consecutive home games, and they seek a fourth at the expense of an away team searching for their first point on their travels.

Match preview

When Toluca suffered a 2-1 defeat to Pumas in July, few expected the turnaround at home that would follow.

That defeat marked their second in four matches across all competitions at home, with the loss followed by a 3-1 setback against Cruz Azul just four days later.

However, since then, the Red Devils have found much-needed consistency in front of their fans, aiding their surge to the top of the Apertura standings, where they were positioned first before the ninth round.

Having scored only one goal each in the 2-1 and 3-1 defeats to Pumas and Cruz Azul, Mohamed’s men have netted 12 goals in their last three matches at La Bombonera, defeating Necaxa 3-1, Juarez 4-0 and Atlas 5-2.

Twelve of their home goals account for 66.7% of the team’s total, highlighting the significant improvement on their patch and how they have leveraged that to become table toppers ahead of Santos Laguna’s visit.

Toluca may have lost first place by the time they take to the pitch if Guadalajara beat Club America in Sunday’s late match, but Diablos Rojos will back themselves to extend their visitors’ miserable record on the road.

This is underlined by the Warriors entering this weekend’s match without a point away from home in four attempts.

Renato Paiva’s side have lost all four matches on their travels so far, conceding three goals in three separate fixtures, emphasising their defensive frailties.

Although some observers may note that two of those losses to Monterrey and Puebla ended 3-2, alongside a 3-0 defeat against America and a narrow 1-0 loss to Cruz Azul, indicating the team’s competitiveness despite the away defeats.

Nonetheless, the second-bottom side travel to the home of the pre-ninth gameweek leaders, hoping to end their losing streak and improve their standing in the table.

Four of their points have been earned on home turf, with nothing gained on their travels, illustrating the pressure and reliance they have placed on securing results in Torreon.

Toluca Liga MX form:

Toluca form (all competitions):

Santos Laguna Liga MX form:

Santos Laguna form (all competitions):

Team News

Ivan Lopez (knee injury) and Marcel Ruiz (ACL) are expected absentees for Sunday night’s fixture, while Hugo Gonzalez, Erick Gutierrez (muscle) and Santiago Simon (calf) will be assessed before kickoff.

Federico Vinas has scored three goals for Toluca in the Apertura and six in all competitions prior to this weekend, and the forward aims to add to that tally against the struggling visitors.

Vinas will be supported by Helinho, who has scored and assisted two goals each before gameweek nine, as the midfielder looks for a fifth goal contribution against the second-bottom visitors.

Santos Laguna have struggled offensively, with only Ezequiel Bullaude scoring more than once before this weekend, while his solitary assist takes him to three direct involvements.

On the injury front, Choco Lozano’s knee issue will be assessed before the match to determine his fitness, while Bruno Amione (knee) and Lucas Di Yorio (leg) are sidelined.

Toluca possible starting lineup:

Garcia; Barbosa, Bruno Mendez, Pereira, Del Villar; Romero, Castro; Angulo, Vinas, Gallardo; Paulinho

Santos Laguna possible starting lineup:

Acevedo; Pardo, Sanchez, Orona; Cuevas, Lopez, Villalba, Gonzalez; Palacios, Bullaude, Aguirre

We say: Toluca 3-1 Santos Laguna

Santos Laguna have been competitive in three of their four away losses, indicating they are unlikely to be embarrassed at La Bombonera.

Nonetheless, the Red Devils possess far too much goalscoring potential to overpower the out-of-form visitors, who are expected to succumb to a fifth consecutive away loss against Toluca.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.