It's that time of year once more as we wave goodbye to the regular season and turn up the heat with the post-season playoffs.
Twice a year, Mexican football heads to a playoff to decide who will become the latest national champion. As the first competition of the campaign draws to a close, let's take a look at which clubs remain in the running and how they can lift the 2026 Liga MX Apertura.
Liga MX: Play-In
To provide more teams with a chance of competing in the postseason, teams positioned seventh to tenth qualify for the 'Play-In', inspired by the NBA.
Teams who finish in seventh and eighth, in this case, it is Tijuana and FC Juárez, will meet in a one-off game to decide who will qualify for the playoffs, earning the chance to face the team that finishes second in the regular season, which was Tigres.
As a battle of the north takes place to earn the seveth seed, teams who ended the regular season in ninth and tenth, Pachuca and Pumas, will also meet in a single knockout match, with the loser automatically disqualifed from playoff contention, whilst the winner goes through to one final test, as they take on the loser between those in the seventh and eighth play-in game.
Liga MX Apertura Play-In Dates:
Both games will take place on Thursday 20th November, 2025.
FC Juárez vs Tijuana: Estadio Caliente, Tijuana (21:00 CST)
Pachuca vs Pumas: Estadio Hidalgo, Pachuca (19:00 CST)
Liga MX: Playoffs
The Playoffs, also known as the Liguilla, commences once the play-in concludes. Competing in a two-legged tie, all matches will be decided by who has the lead over the course of both games, to be played at both stadiums.
First legs are to be played at the stadium of the team who finished lower in the regular season, with the returning clash hosted by the team who finished higher.
The key difference is that if the teams remain level after both legs, the side that finished higher in the regular-season table advances. Normally, a tie would go to extra time and penalties, but with fixtures coming in rapid succession, the league aims to avoid fatigue and a drop in quality by awarding progression to the team that proved stronger over the 17-match campaign.
This is how the quarterfinal lineup currently looks:
Toluca (1) vs (8) Tijuana, FC Juárez, Pachuca or Pumas
Tigres (2) vs (7) Tijuana or FC Juárez
Cruz Azul (3) vs (6) Chivas
Club América vs (5) Monterrey
Toluca enter the postseason as the top seed and hold the strongest position to defend the Liga MX title they claimed at the end of last season. Tigres’ late surge lifted them into second place, meaning they too will wait to learn their opponents. In-form Chivas, meanwhile, face the challenge of toppling a solid Cruz Azul side, while both Club América and Monterrey head into the playoffs needing to reverse their poor end-of-season form if they are to secure a spot in the final four.
Who do you think will win Liga MX Apertura 2025? Let us know!
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