The Jaraguay Stadium, at the Municipal of Montería, will be the scene this Sunday of a clash with very different realities in the Colombian First A table. Jaguares de Córdoba, last place in the championship, hosts Deportes Tolima, which is fighting to get into the top eight, in a match that for the home team is practically a final for survival and for the visiting team an opportunity to continue accumulating gradually to not lose sight of the top zone.
How Jaguares de Córdoba arrives
The Córdoba team is going through a very difficult moment. They sit last in the table with just 7 points in 11 games played, the result of 1 win, 4 draws and 6 losses. Their goal difference, -9 (11 goals for and 20 against), reflects the difficulties both in generating consistent offensive football and in closing their goal properly.
In their last five matches, Jaguares have not known victory: they lost to Águilas Doradas (0-2) and Alianza FC (1-2) at home, also fell to Independiente Medellín (1-2) and rescued two draws, 2-2 against Fortaleza CEIF and 3-3 against Atlético Junior. In that stretch they scored 7 goals and conceded 11, proof that the team continues to suffer defensively despite having some offensive output.
How Deportes Tolima arrives
The outlook is different for the pijao team, which occupies eighth place with 20 points in 13 games played (5 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses). Their goal difference is +2, with 15 goals for and 13 against, figures more balanced than those of the top teams, but which keep them in the fight for the top spots.
Tolima arrives on a particular streak: in their last five games they have not lost, although they have not won either. They drew 0-0 away against Atlético Nacional, tied 0-0 at home against Boyacá Chicó FC, shared points 2-2 with Fortaleza CEIF and 1-1 with América de Cali, and their only loss in that period was 0-1 against Once Caldas. Four draws and one loss, with just 3 goals scored and 4 conceded, a run that speaks of defensive solidity but some lack of sharpness up front.
The table and what is at stake
The difference between both teams is large: Tolima has 20 points and Jaguares only 7, a gap of 13 points that places the Córdoba team at the bottom of the standings and the Tolima team in the qualification zone, just one point behind seventh place held by Independiente Medellín.
At the top of the table, América de Cali leads with 27 points and a goal difference of +17, followed by Deportivo Cali (24), Atlético Nacional and Atlético Bucaramanga (23 each). For Tolima, winning three points in Montería could bring them closer to that group of leaders; for Jaguares, on the other hand, every match that passes without winning takes them further away from the possibility of escaping direct relegation.
Our analysis
With the numbers in hand, we believe that the contrast of needs can play an important role in this encounter. Jaguares have not won in five games and carry a very negative goal difference, which suggests that their defensive fragility will continue to be a sensitive point against any rival with some order.
For their part, Tolima arrive unbeaten in their last five games, although their streak of draws (four in that stretch) shows that they have struggled to find victory lately, even against mid-table teams. Our analysis is that, if the pijao team manages to translate their solidity into goals, they have plenty of arguments to take all three points and move closer to the Top 7; but if Jaguares manages to take advantage of their home advantage and the pressing need to add points, the match could be more even than the difference in the table suggests.
Schedule and where to follow it
The match between Jaguares de Córdoba and Deportes Tolima will be played on Sunday, October 11 at the Jaraguay Stadium, Municipal of Montería, with the following schedules by country: Spain, 23:05; Mexico City, 15:05; Bogotá and Lima, 16:05; Buenos Aires, 18:05; New York and Miami, 17:05; and Los Angeles, 14:05.
We invite you to follow all the details, the minute-by-minute and the post-match analysis of this Colombian First A clash on golazoscore.com.py.
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