Liga MX Preview: All Eyes on El Clásico de Clásicos
By Sam Plummer
Mexican football took a two-week break as international football took over. Now, we are back so why not take a look at what you can expect from the latest round of fixtures?
All nine games will be played across Friday and Saturday, allowing all involved to enjoy the Independence Day celebrations on Sunday and Monday.
Friday 13th September 2024
Puebla vs Querétaro
Atlas vs Pachuca
Juárez vs Mazatlán
Tigres vs San Luís
Necaxa vs Pumas
Friday night action begins at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc as Puebla goes in search of a third consecutive game without defeat. The recent win over América and 1-1 tie with Mazatlán saw Jose Manual de la Torre's side go into the break on a positive note after a run of four defeats. Their visitors, Querétaro continue a search for a first win of the season, after seven games the club suffered six defeats but managed to record a first point of the campaign when they faced Pachuca before the break.
An hour later Atlas will host Pachuca at the Estadio Jalisco. The Guadalajara side suffered its first league defeat of the season before the break when they fell 2-1 to San Luís. However, their record at home is unbeaten, winning two and drawing 1-1 with high-flyers Tigres. Pachuca, the reigning CONCACAF Champions Cup winners, have fallen short of expectations thus far. Their last win was the third weekend of the season, beating San Luís. Since then, they have shipped six goals and gave Querétaro their first points of the season.
Heading to the Mexico/ U.S. border, FC Juárez and Mazatlán are two sides sitting outside of the current playoff standings, with an opportunity to close the gap, with the right result this weekend. Like Los Gallos, Juárez also have just one point to start the season, which came during an opening day draw with Atlas. Since then, the club faced narrow losses to Pumas and América before a 5-0 loss before the international break against Chivas.
Tigres currently sit in 2nd place, only two points off of the league leaders Cruz Azul. A comeback 3-1 win over Pumas saw Veljko Paunovic's side go into the break on a high note. Now, they face a San Luís side that is coming off an impressive win over Atlas. Only three points separate these two teams going into the Friday night clash at the Estadio Universitario and a win for the visitors will help to close the gap between the front runners and the rest of the pack.
The final game of the jam-packed night of action is at the Estadio Victoria in Aguascalientes. Necaxa, who are just two places behind their guests. Before the break, the club were left stunned losing 3-2 against Santos Laguna, despite leading 2-0. As for Pumas, they will be aiming to bounce back after back-to-back games against Atlas and Tigres. Both sides find themselves on either side of the playoff qualification positions, but a win for the home side this weekend will ruffle up some feathers.
Saturday 14th September 2023
Toluca vs Tijuana
Club América vs Chivas
León vs Cruz Azul
Santos Laguna vs Monterrey
Saturday evening begins in the State of Mexico as Toluca welcomes Tijuana. Both sides have hit the ground running this season, and they are well on course for playoff births. A matchup for 3rd vs 4th, is a game that can go either way, with the recent head-to-head results showing that both teams have won once and their Clausura 2023 meeting left fans entertained during a six-goal stalemate.
In the capital, attention turns to the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes as it is that time of year again - El Clásico de clásicos. Prior to the start of the season, many would have expected América to run home as winners in this fixture. Reiginning Bicampeonatos, André Jardine's side even knocked Chivas out of the Clausura semi final earlier this year. However, four defeats from six is not the form of champions. Sat in 12th place, Las Águilas have a mountain to climb if they have any ambitions of winning a third consecutive title. As for their counterparts, Chivas started the season poorly but have bounced back with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Tigres before a 5-0 thriller against Juárez in their most recent outing.
Away from El Súperclasico, León welcomes league leaders Cruz Azul to the Estadio León. Jorge Bava's side face an uphill battle this weekend, remaining one of three clubs to have not won a single game this season. Four draws and two losses mean that they have an outside shot of playoff football, if they can pull things around between now and the end of the regular season, However, they face an Azul side that has dropped points just once from their opening six matches. Beyond their league record, La Maquiná will be feeling confident after dispatching América 4-1 in their most recent match.
The final game of the weekend is in Torreón as Santos Laguna faces Los Rayados. Losing 2-1 in a top-of-the-table battle, Monterrey will be feeling sore from their defeat to Toluca before the break. However, with time to think and prepare for this meeting against Santos, Martín Demichelis' side will feel confident facing a side that has won just once from an opening seven games. The recent head-to-head also favours the weekend visitors who have won all of the last three meetings, keeping three clean sheets and having scored seven goals.
What are your predictions for this weekends round of fixtures? Let us know!