Matchday 2 is here for the Liga MX Apertura as teams look to kick on from perfect starts to the campaign or bounce back from disappointing results in Matchday 1.
We got to see the new NFM rules being implemented last weekend, which saw 11 young players being handed their professional debuts, which is on course to beat the 38 made across the entire 2023/24 campaign.
Friday 12th July 2024
Club América vs Querétaro
Tijuana vs Chivas
Mazatlán vs Atlético San Luís
Atlas vs Tigres
Las Águilas aim to bounce back at the Estadio Ciudad de los Desportes tonight after a sloppy 2-1 loss to San Luís last weekend. New signing Erick Sánchez could be in with a chance of a first start following a $9 million move from Pachuca.
Tijuana got off to a start last weekend against Querétaro on the road and will be looking to match the number of home wins recorded the entire Clausura 2024 campaign, when their 3-1 win over Puebla was the only three points they achieved. The home form consisted of one win, five draws and two defeats.
San Luís will be hoping to build on their 2-1 win over América last week with another three points at the Estadio El Encanto in Mazatlán. The home side for this encounter suffered a 95th minute penalty defeat to Cruz Azul, so they will be aiming to put those disappointments behind them to gain their first points of the season.
Last up on Friday evening is a meeting in Guadalajara between Atlas and Tigres. Both side fought closely contested matches with Atlas coming from behind twice to steal a draw against Juárez whilst Tigres won their opening game of the season with an Andre-Pierre Gignac penalty being the deciding factor.
Saturday 13th July 2024
Léon vs Pachuca
Necaxa vs Puebla
Toluca vs Juárez
Santos Laguna vs Pumas
Monterrey vs Cruz Azul
Léon started the Apertura season in the worst imaginable way, suffering a 4-1 defeat in Mexico City to Pumas. They will also be without legend Andrés Guardado who sustained a hamstring injury prior to the start of the competition. Pachuca lost 1-0 in their opening match to Monterrey, but will be hoping that Venezuelan striker Salómon Rondón will be back in action as they look to pile on the misery for Léon.
Necaxa and Puebla will meet at the Estadio Victoria with the home side looking to get their first points of the season, following a 1-0 loss to Tigres. As for Puebla, they opened the league season with a tight 1-0 over Santos Laguna. Lucas Cavallini expertly converted a last minute winner to give the side all three points.
Toluca drew 0-0 with Chivas in their opening game and will be hoping to provide their fans with more entertainment especially with the arrival of big money signing Paulinho from Sporting Lisbon, who came on to play 30 minutes last week. Juárez were left irritated against Atlas last week, pegged back to only leave with a point but will be aiming to sure up their defence to take four points from the opening two games.
Santos Laguna have the difficult task of trying to prevent Pumas from adding to their four goals from last week. Jorge Ruvalcaba scored twice as Guillermo Martínez scored from range to top off a delightful display against Léon, but a last minute defeat for Santos will give them the belief that they can keep Pumas at bay at the Estadio Corona in Torreón tomorrow night.
Last but not least is the most mouth-watering tie of the weekend. A replay of the Clausura semi final between Monterrey and Cruz Azul is in-store for fans. Both sides won their opening fixtures 1-0 and with key signings made on both sides, they will be hoping for more goals. Monterrey will be without their key summer signing Óliver Torres, who is expected to be sidelined until August, whilst Giorgos Giakoumakis is a doubt for the game, but could be in line to make his debut for the club at the Estadio BBVA.