The Liga MX first round preview will go in order of day and time the games will be played, let’s get into it.
Friday:
The first match of the Liga MX Clausura season starts with the debut of Mexican legend Rafael Marquez wearing an Atlas jersey for the first time in 16 years. The Guadalajara club travels east to face Queretaro. While the return of Marquez to Atlas has been the biggest and more heartwarming story entering the season, no one knows how much the Mexican captain has left in the tank. On the field it’s a battle of two teams who will look to make a push to the playoffs even though neither are expected to challenge for the title. In recent seasons, los Gallos Blancos have built a strong foundation and battled for a title in the Clausura 15 season. You expect Queretaro to collect all three points at home against an Atlas team with plenty of questions entering the start of the season.
The night cap on Friday sees the return of Miguel Herrera with his new team at home when Tijuana host Pachuca. While Tijuana will want to bounce back from their terrible Apertura season, Pachuca’s young guns are one of the worst opponents they’d hope to start that with. While the Xolos do have one of the most unique home fields and the artificial turf could possess a problem, it would come as no surprise if Pachuca can come away with a draw or even a win in north Mexico.
Saturday:
The first game on Saturday is between one of the favorites, Club America, hosting one of the surprise playoff teams last year in Puebla. The last few times we saw America, we saw them lack composure in keeping their heads in the semifinals when they had Pumas on the ropes, and lacked tactical discipline at the Club World Cup and blew a 1-0 lead in the final two minutes. The pressure will be on the Eagles to get off to a good start against one of the smaller clubs in Puebla and anything but a win will put early pressure on Nacho Ambriz.
One of the better games of the week sees last season’s finalist Pumas, travel north to face Monterrey. Two of the early favorites, Monterrey will want to get off to a good start considering they missed the playoffs last year and rivals Tigres took home the trophy. With one of the deepest and most talented rosters in Mexico, winning at home will be a must for Antonio Mohammed and his men if they’re to get back to the playoffs. While Pumas last year surprised everyone with finishing first in the league table and making it to the finals, they won’t be surprising anyone this year. One of the more daunting away fixtures to start a season, it’s hard to see them coming away with any points from Monterrey, even though a draw would be a fine result for them.
Continuing Saturday, Leon hosts Santos Laguna in a battle of two possible mid-table playoff teams. Leon will want to build off their fourth place finish last season, and even though they lost Mexican international El Guti Pena, bringing in the likes of Jorge Enriquez gives them some more backbone and they still have one of the top goal scorers in Mauro Boselli. While a year ago Santos Laguna hosted the Liga MX trophy, last season saw all the wheels fall off for them. The rebuilding process might not be so quick to fix and traveling to Leon might see Santos get the season off on the wrong foot.
In one of the later games, Morelia host Cruz Azul in a battle of two teams needing early wins. Morelia are just two points behind Chivas and taking three points at home will be important for survival, and a win will put heavy pressure on Chivas the following day. While Cruz Azul will want to break a three tournament run without playing in Liguilla. Cruz Azul coach Tomas Boy will imply his attacking and free flowing style to Cruz Azul, and this game could offer some fireworks. The game looks like it has the ability to finish in a high scoring draw.
The Saturday night cap sees bottom of the relegation table Dorados heading to Chiapas to face Jaguares. After finishing the end of the Apertura in the bottom of both the regular season table and the relegation table, Dorados can’t afford to drop points early on and winning at Chiapas seems almost as a must. While on paper Jaguares are made up of every other teams left overs, Ricardo LaVople was able to guild them to the playoffs last season. In recent seasons it’s been Chiapas ability to make the most of their home games as one of the main reasons they’ve had recent success. There’s no reason why they can’t continue that momentum into their home opener and should take all three points from Dorados.
Sunday:
The game of the week is the Sunday morning game in a rematch of last season’s semifinals between champions Tigres and Toluca. This game on paper has two of the strongest teams in Mexico but games in Toluca have at times been a sluggish affair for the midday kick off and the high heat. While Tigres possess the best team and deepest roster in Liga MX, and will count of Andre-Pierre Gignac to continue his hot form from last year, Mexico’s best keeper in Alfredo Talavera will stand in the feline’s way. In the toughest game to call all week, the game could go either way. At the same time, Tigres coach Ricardo Ferretti might play the match close to his vest and could be content with a draw.
The final match on Sunday sees Mexican giants and relegation threatened Chivas hosting Veracruz, who in the past two seasons have been turning the tide into a consistent and quality side. While Chivas are playing at home, in recent times Estadio Omilife hasn’t been an intimidating fort. It will be important for new Chivas signing Carlos Pena to get off to a good start after rumors swirled about his desire to not leave former club Leon. While this game is set up for Chivas to get off to a strong start, past seasons also suggest that Veracruz could come in a take all three points from Guadalajara.
Catch up on any of VAVEL USA Soccer’s week preview to get you geared up for the opening of Liga MX.
Monday: Intro to Liga MX
Tuesday: Team intros
Wednesday: Liga MX clasicos and derbies
Thursday: Relegation battle