Liga MX: Atlas-Tigres kicks off Wildcard Weekend
The 12-team field is finally set and the Liga MX playoffs kick off this weekend with four wildcard matches while the Top 4 seeds watch from home. Three of those four teams on a bye, however, must attend to Concacaf Champions League obligations.
Wildcard Weekend opens Saturday night when No. 10 Tigres take on No. 7 Atlas at Estadio Jalisco, after which No. 5 Santos Laguna hosts No. 12 Querétaro.
Sunday’s double-header begins with No. 9 Toluca doing battle against the defending champs, No. 6 León, and concludes with No. 9 Guadalajara paying a visit to No. 8 Pachuca.
The Liga MX quarterfinals would then open on Tuesday May 11 with the match-ups determined by seeding, i.e. the lowest surviving seed faces No. 1 Cruz Azul, the next lowest is pitted against No. 2 América and so on with regard to No. 3 Monterrey and No. 4 Puebla.
A first-time meeting and a Liga MX Final rematch
Pundits project that Saturday’s twin bill will be the lesser of the two Wildcard Weekend dates. Early odds heavily favor Tigres and Santos advancing, but if last season’s playoffs taught us anything, it’s that the game is won on the field not on the sports pages.
Liga MX officials brought back the wildcard round last season after a 12-year absence and the first game of the Guardianes 2020 playoffs produced a shocking upset as No. 12 Puebla stunned the then-defending champs, fifth-seeded Monterrey. The following day No. 9 Pachuca routed No. 8 Santos while the other two wildcard matches went according to form.
This time around, at least one “upset” is expected as the 10th-seeded Tigres are the bettors’ favorite against Atlas. The perennial title favorites are in “Win one for Tuca” mode after learning that legendary coach Ricardo Ferretti will not be back with the team next season. The veteran-heavy club would like nothing better than to send “Tuca” on his way with a Liga MX record 8th league title.
The two clubs met back on Matchday 3 with Tigres easing to a 2-0 road win, but this will be a first-ever postseason meeting between the Zorros and “los Felinos.”
Querétaro will enter Estadio Corona as a decided underdog after the Gallos Blancos were the last team to punch their playoff ticket, sneaking in when the Pumas failed to win in the final game of the Liga MX regular season late Sunday night.
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Santos competed for a first-round bye until the final whistle of its own season finale and coach Guillermo Almada has the entire roster at his disposal. Querétaro, on the other hand, must wait to see if captain Antonio Valencia will be able to pass a fitness test. The former Man United player missed the final two games of the Guardianes 2021 season with a calf injury and his availability is in doubt.
The Guerreros and Gallos Blancos have met twice before in the Liga MX postseason, with Santos Laguna winning both times, including a 5-3 aggregate victory in the Clausura 2015 Final.
“Los Albiverdes” have been tough at home this season, posting a 6-2-1 record that provided 20 of the 26 points they earned. Still, Querétaro won the Matchday 14 meeting 1-0.
Champs and Chivas highlight Sunday’s calendar
The León-Toluca match pairs two teams who love to attack behind veteran midfielders who are also team captains. This game will be decided by which “quarterback” is the most effective, either León’s Luis Montes, 34, or Toluca’s Rubens Sambueza, 37.
This will be the third playoff meeting between the two clubs. León edged the Diablos Rojos in the Clausura 2014 semifinals, while they split their matches in the 1974-75 finals, a championship that was played in a four-team round-robin format. Toluca won the league title over León, Cruz Azul and Unión Curtidores.
The Esmeraldas defeated the visiting Diablos on Matchday 13 by a 2-1 score.
Finally, Pachuca hosts Chivas in the nightcap in what could be the best game of Wildcard Weekend. The Tuzos closed out the Liga MX regular season on a 6-1-1 run, while Guadalajara put together a 3-game win streak beginning on Matchday 14 that lifted Chivas from 15th place all the way up to 9th.
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The game will mark the second-ever playoff meeting with the Tuzos holding the advantage (Pachuca eliminated the Chivas in the Clausura 2006 semifinals). The two teams played to a 1-1 draw on Matchday 7.