Which teams make up the Liga MX Apertura playoffs?

This weekend saw the end of the Liga MX Apertura regular season and now is the turn of the playoffs.

We now know the fate of eight teams, all of which will not be taking part in the playoffs and subsequently will only watch on until the start of the Clausura season, which will begin in the new year.

Those teams disqualified from Apertura contention are:

11. Club León
12. FC Juárez
13. Necaxa
14. Mazatlán
15. Puebla
16. Pachuca
17. Querétaro
18. Santos Laguna

Whilst this weekend brought the end of the road for these eight teams, FC Juárez rose from 15th to 12th with a last-day-of-the-season win against Pachuca. Their win saw Puebla, Mazatlán and Necaxa all slump down a place in the standings as none of the other sides were able to win the respective games.

León were the only side who possessed a glimmer of hope of creeping into the playoff places but needed to win against Monterrey whilst hoping for an Atlas to defeat Necaxa. Los Leones' loss in Monterrey confirmed that they would miss out but Necaxa could only hold Atlas for a point, announcing them as the 10th-placed side and invited to the play-in phase.

The Play-In Round

The Play-In round features teams that finished between 7th and 10th in the Apertura standings. This season, Tijuana, Club América, Chivas, and Atlas will compete for a spot in the playoffs. The winners will secure their place and face one of the league's top two seeds, Cruz Azul or Toluca, in the next stage.

Seventh-seeded Tijuana will face eighth-placed Club América, with the winner securing a playoff spot and a match-up against second-seeded Toluca in the Apertura. The game, scheduled for Wednesday, 20th November in Tijuana, gives the loser one final opportunity to clinch a playoff berth in a subsequent match.

Also on Wednesday, Chivas will face local rivals Atlas in a thrilling Play-In clash. The stakes are high, as the loser will be automatically eliminated from the competition. Meanwhile, the winner will go on to play the loser of the Tijuana vs. Club América match, battling for the final playoff spot and a quarter-final showdown with league winners Cruz Azul in the Apertura playoffs.

Teams Qualified for the Playoffs

Whilst four teams compete for the two available playoff spots, there will be six teams lying in wait. The teams qualified for the main phase of the playoffs are:

1. Cruz Azul
2. Toluca
3. Tigres UANL
4. Pumas UNAM
5. Monterrey
6. Atlético de San Luís

Cruz Azul lost one game all season and earned their place at the top of the table heading into the playoffs. The final day of the regular season brought some surprises further down as a last-minute equaliser from La Maquiná against Tigres saw them fall to third as Toluca claimed the second spot with a 4-0 win against Club América.

Pumas' 1-0 win over Querétaro saw them claim 4th spot despite wins for Monterrey and San Luís.

Los Azules and Toluca will need to wait until after the international break to learn who they will face in the playoffs, but we do have two confirmed fixtures.

Tigres vs Atlético de San Luís
Pumas vs Monterrey

Tigres and San Luís met in September and the game was decided in the 98th minute through a Fernando Gorriran freekick, despite Los Tigres being reduced to 10-men earlier in the game when Juan Brunetta received a straight red card. If the head-to-head record is anything to judge then San Luís have a tough task given that they have not won this fixture since July 2018, failing to win in the last 12 meetings.

Pumas and Monterrey have a closer record in recent history with the last two meetings ending in a draw, although Pumas won the initial clash via a penalty shootout in the Leagues Cup. The Apertura meeting ended in a goalless draw, despite there being 24 chances between the two sides.

The playoff excitement is beginning to build now that the regular season has concluded. With highs and lows set to take centre stage, stay tuned for the drama and fierce battles as we discover who will claim the Liga MX Apertura 2024 title.

Who do you think will win the Apertura this year? Let us know!