Battle royales on tap at top and bottom of tables
A 27-games-in-11-days ordeal comes to an end this weekend as Liga MX moves past the halfway point of the Clausura 2022.
With a Midweek Matchday providing a trial by fire for all 18 teams, separating the contenders from the pretenders will be much easier come Sunday.
Matchday 9’s weekend calendar provides fans with two big showdowns at the top of the table and a surprising battle for last place between two of the biggest clubs in Liga MX.
The final game of the gauntlet – Atlético de San Luis at Tijuana – though not the most attractive, drips with relegation drama as the Tuneros and Xolos are desperate to avoid the financial penalty associated with that ignominy.
First place at stake in Pachuca
The two highest-scoring teams in Liga MX take the pitch at Estadio Hidalgo on Sunday with host Pachuca eager to remain atop the table.
The Tuzos (17 goals in 8 games) are coming off a gritty 1-0 win at holders Atlas that lifted them into first place after Puebla drew with FC Juárez. In his first season in charge, Guillermo Almada has Pachuca playing at a high level and the club’s +9 goal differential is evidence of that.
Nicolás Ibáñez is reconnecting with the net (second in Liga MX with 6 goals), Avilés Hurtado and Romario Ibarra are wreaking havoc down the wings and Víctor “El Pocho” Guzmán is flashing the form that earned him an invite to El Tri two years ago.
The third place Tigres (also 17 goals in 8 games) coughed up a late game-tying goal to visiting Cruz Azul on Wednesday to end their five-game win streak but Miguel Herrera has them playing on the front foot.
André-Pierre Gignac leads Liga MX with 7 goals, wingers Florian Thauvin and Luis Quiñones attack out wide and box-to-box midfielder Juan Pablo Vigón has been superb.
Keepers Nahuel Guzmán (Tigres) and Oscar Ustari will be tested early and often. The touch line could also be the scene of fireworks as Herrera and Almada have clashed before when the former was at América and the latter at Santos Laguna.
A Tigres victory would boost “los felinos” to 20 points, 1 more than Pachuca. A draw would allow Puebla to leap-frog the Tuzos into first while a win for the home side keeps them atop the Liga MX table.