Monterrey vs. Mazatlan Prediction, Picks, Odds

Monterrey vs. Mazatlan Prediction 

Monterrey

Fernando Ortiz's men are bunched up at the top table and locked into a three-way tie with 22 points, but thanks to their dominant goal differential of +13 put them as pole position leaders. Ortiz is getting contributions from every corner of his locker room with seven different goal scorers finding the scoresheet. Thanks to the allocation amongst his players, the Argentine is currently benefiting with his highest win percentage as a manager at 59.5 percent. 

Making a winter transfer move from MLS side FC Cincinnati, Brandon Vazquez has not looked out of place joining a new league and country. The 25-year-old is tied for the club lead with five goals. In his last fixture against Pumas, Vazquez broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute and the giants from the north never looked back after that. In 81 minutes played, the American-capped international registered five shots with three hitting the target, making him the vocal point upfront on Sunday's victory.

Known for his steadfast art of defending, Jesus Gallardo landed on the scorer's sheet with a pair of assists on Sunday’s 3-0 win. When the 29-year-old wasn’t busy setting up goals, on the backend he competed in all 90 minutes of action with no fouls and a passing completion rate of 80 percent going 32-for-40. 

Mazatlan

Mazatlan come into this contest yet again with a depleted squad missing seven players due to injury with no sight of returning players off the shelf. In last weekend's 2-1 victory striker

Luis Amarilla left the match after 31 minutes due to injury. There is no word if his knock is significant enough to keep him out of Sunday’s fixture. If the Paraguayan international is deemed unfit to play that will leave a hole up front as he currently leads his team in goals with four.

Central Midfielder Andres Montano is starting to become a key player on this Mazatlan club finding his groove on the pitch. Already racking up over 800 minutes of action in the Clausura, Montano is making the most of his playing time. The 21-year-old has already bagged three goals in this calendar year. The U-23 Mexico product found the back of the against Necaxa, snapping a seven-game goalless drought. With the CONCACAF Nations League on the horizon, looking to make his senior debut and earn a call-up for Mexico, look for Montano the dazzle on the pitch once again.

Monterrey vs. Mazatlan - My Pick 

Strong trends are favored heading into this duel in both teams to score market. Both team scores are currently hitting in 70 percent of games involving Mazatlán this season, meanwhile, for Monterrey, it’s 50 percent. Mazatlán has what it takes to at least bag a goal in this one considering the situation Monterrey will be. 

In mid-week action, Monterrey will make the journey and travel to Cincinnati for the CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16 affairs. With the emergence of MLS in the last few years, Liga MX sides take these competitions seriously and want to prove who’s the big dog in the North American soccer landscape. With the travel and midweek play could see Monterrey having some fatigued legs on the backend and could concede. Maintaining their elite stature, and goal-scoring threats upfront, they should be able to find the score sheet on an unformidable opponent.

• When: Sunday March 10, 10:00 p.m. ET

• Where: Estadio BBVA

• TV: Univision, Telemundo, Fox Sports, ESPN, Vix and Sling TV