Puebla vs Santos Laguna Prediction, Betting Odds & Picks

How to Watch Puebla vs Santos Laguna

From a short-term perspective, it might make sense why some Puebla fans would worry about their team.

In their latest 3-0 defeat, they seemed to have serious difficulties with finding the back of the net and had no real answers against Santos, who now appear destined to surpass them in the Liga MX playoffs.

But maybe it isn’t all doom and gloom.

Puebla had their chances, and on another day in which they followed through on a chance or two, we might have had an entirely different narrative about the result.

Keeping in mind that Santos did end up giving up a surprising amount of chances, could a win for Puebla still be in the cards?

Despite Victory, Santos’ Backline Allowed Far Too Many Chances

Let’s talk numbers.

On paper, a 3-0 win for Santos looks like a massive and one-sided win. With a shutout and three more goals than the opposition, it’s tempting to say that this was a convincing result.

And yet, when glancing at the statistics, it’s quite obvious that this match was closer than what the scoreline indicated.

With 19 shots in the game, Santos only collected two more than their rivals who finished with a total of 17.

In general, Puebla have been more efficient in 2021 when it comes to finding the back of the net, and with more goals in the regular season than Santos, a resurgence could be near…

Puebla Have Rarely Had Issues For Long Periods Of Time In 2021

Credit to manager Nicolas Larcamon. At just 36 years of age, the Argentine has quickly made Puebla one of the more exciting teams of the 2021 Clausura tournament.

And most importantly, he also rarely falters for extended periods of time.

So far in the current season, Puebla have never lost two games in a row and tend to immediately bounce back from results.

Larcamon has made this roster a well-oiled machine, and when setbacks have emerged, he typically solves them in a rapid fashion.

Santos Might Play The Defensive Game

It would be understandable for Santos to sit further back — we’ve seen it before this month in the playoffs.

After claiming an early 2-1 lead over Monterrey in the first leg of the Liga MX playoff quarterfinals, Santos took a more cautious role that allowed their opponents to outshoot them 17 to 8.

The decision was a practical one, and although it ended up meaning that they allowed two goals, expect Santos to do the same in the second leg against Puebla after taking a 3-0 lead.

Which isn’t to say that Santos will be knocked out of the playoffs.

Instead, it simply makes sense as to why Puebla could narrowly miss out while also claiming a close victory.