Liga MX Matchday 5 Preview

The Leagues Cup ended for Liga MX clubs recently which means that they will all return to Liga MX action this weekend. After Club América and Mazatlán fell short in the quarter finals, the remaining four teams in the competition were all from the MLS.

Last week, three games took place involving teams which crashed out of the Leagues Cup early, but now we will see a full return with nine games set to take place.

Friday 23rd August 2024

Querétaro vs Cruz Azul
Mazatlán vs Pachuca
Tijuana vs Monterrey

Los Gallos continued their disappointing start to the Liga MX campaign with a fifth consecutive defeat at the hands of Monterrey last week, with things not getting any easier as they second-placed Cruz Azul. The one saving grace heading into this encounter for the home side will be that Azul has not won any of its last five games in 90 minutes, including the games at the Leagues Cup as Martín Anselmi's side has drawn all five.

Mazatlán surprised many as one of the last Liga MX sides in the Leagues Cup, but they will return to reality this weekend knowing that they are still searching for a first win of the season. Their weekend opponent, Pachuca, has only won one of its opening four games which came during a 2-0 win against San Luís.

Tijuana returned to winning ways last week by beating Santos Laguna 3-1 but will be facing a high-flying Monterrey side which has recently changed powers with Martin Demichelis aiming to solidify its spot at the top of the league.

Saturday 24th August 2024

Necaxa vs Juárez
Atlas vs Pumas
León vs Santos Laguna
Tigres vs Chivas
Club América vs Puebla

All of the last three meetings between Necaxa and Juárez have ended in a draw, with the last win in this fixture going back to July 2022 in favour of Necaxa. This season, Juárez remains winless whilst Necaxa has won just once in the opening four games which came during a 4-1 win against Puebla.

Atlas will host Pumas at the Estadio Jalisco this weekend as both clubs aim to maintain their unbeaten runs this season. Just two points separate the sides going into the weekend meeting, but a win for the hosts will see them climb above Pumas, who themselves have a chance to jump to the top of the league.

León welcomes Santos Laguna to the Adonai Escobedo González knowing that they have won the last three games against their weekend opposition. Back-to-back 3-2 wins in most recent times follow up an October 2023 2-0 victory and an earlier 4-1 in March of that year. It has been a dominant recent history for León who would need to go back as far as August 2022 for the last time that they lost to Santos.

The game of the weekend is in Monterrey as Tigres and Chivas will play the 2023 Clausura final with Tigres manager Veljko Paunovic managing against his former employer for the first time since leaving Chivas after that final. Tigres remain one of the standout sides this season having won three and drawn one from their opening four games this season, whilst Chivas sit three points behind.

Club América and Puebla will be the Saturday night entertainment as André Jardine's side look to bounce back after a penalty shootout heartbreak against the Colorado Rapids in the Leagues Cup quarter final. Their opponents come into the fixture having won just one of their opening five matches, including a 2-1 defeat last week against Monterrey.

Sunday 25th August 2024

Toluca vs Atlético de San Luís

The final match of the weekend is in the State of Mexico as Toluca hosts San Luís. Two sides on 8 points to start the season, albeit San Luís has played a game extra. Los Diablos Rojos have won the last three meetings with an aggregate score of 10-2. Winning just once in the last five meetings, San Luís will need to look back as far as August 2022 when they won 1-0, via a Jhon Murillo winner for the last time they were able to get the better of Toluca.

Who do you think will standout this weekend, let us know!