Guadalajara vs America Prediction: Home support might just be the key

The Guadalajara fans are more than excited to host the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League round of 16 tie. The game is going to be against Club America, a familiar opponent and this will be an epic Mexican clash. And for the America fans' they look forward to a tough game, one they hold a greater chance of winning after beating Guadalajara in the last 2 meetings. 

It's the CONCACAF Champions League round of 16 and all the cards are on the table with both teams fighting for a place in the quarter final stage.

Guadalajara

Mexican club side Guadalajara are currently ranked 9th on the Liga MX Clausura table. They have no or little chance of getting to the Liga MX title, but at the moment they are hoping they can get a glimpse of the CONCACAF Champions League. 

Guadalajara have been unable to beat Club America in their last 2 meetings, and whether that will be a motivation for the upcoming clash or a feeling of doubt is yet to be decided. And looking at their present form, there's need to worry for Guadalajara ahead of this game. They have won just 1 of their last 4 league games, and they lost 2 and drew 1 in those games.

Their last game ended in a sour 3-0 defeat against Cruz Azul away from home. 

Guadalajara manager Fernando Gago has a million questions about how his team copes in away games. Against Cruz Azul He maintained the same team that had beaten Universidad Nacional 3-1 a week earlier, yet he lost by 3 goals to nil.

Ahead of the game against Club America, he's most likely going to retain a 4-3-3 formation as he looks to head into the 2nd leg with an advantage. There was not a single player worth mentioning in the defeat to Cruz Azul and that's something that needs to change ahead of the clash with Club America.

Club America

Club America hope their league status is enough to see them through a challenge from Guadalajara. They are currently 5 places and 6 points above Guadalajara, which says a lot about the form of both teams. But they would be mistaken to judge Guadalajara based on league form alone.

Club America are not a perfect team either although they have back-to-back wins in their last 2 games to build upon. But prior to that, they had a defeat and a draw. Their last game against Atlas ended in a 5-1 win for Club America. The America players really deserved the win for their resilience and discipline. They were behind in just 7 minutes, but they had the game under wraps in no time. And Atlas FC lost a man in the first half, which gave Club America the perfect advantage to punish them.

Club America coach Andre Jardine is popularly known to play the 4-2-3-1 formation in both defeats and victories. So it's a routine he will most likely retain for the game against Guadalajara. Alejandro Zendejas made a point after coming off the bench to score 2 goals in the last game. Andre Jardine might be inclined to hand him a start ahead of Javairo Dilrosun on the right flank.

Head to Head

In the last 20 meetings between Guadalajara vs America, America has won 11 matches, while Guadalajara won just 4 matches and they played a draw in 5 matches.

Analysis and Predictions

It will be a tough game no doubt and for Guadalajara they have the ultimate advantage of having an incredible home support behind them. America will most likely thread with caution and try to get a positive result from this match, with full conviction that the return leg will be a piece of cake. 

According to the h2h, Guadalajara have not kept a clean sheet in the last 7 meetings. There's been more than 2.5 goals scored in 5 of the last 7 meetings. America also scored first in 6 of the last 7 meetings and there were less than 4.5 cards in those 6 games. 

• More than 2.5 Goals at 1.86 Odds
• More than 2.5 Goals at 1.85 Odds
• Both Teams to Score at 1.66 Odds