Liga MX home stretch: Bravos host Puebla in battle of wildcard hopefuls
With a pitiable FIFA break behind us, Liga MX fans can turn our attention to the stretch run as Matchday 13 kicks off Friday night.
The weekend features several attractive match-ups – León at América, Tigres at Toluca, plus the “Clásico Tapatío” – as clubs start jostling in earnest for playoff berths.
We’ll take a closer look at those contests in a subsequent post, but here and now we’ll focus on the Friday doubleheader and a few recent developments from this past week.
Of the two curtain-raisers – Santos Laguna at Necaxa and Puebla at FC Juárez – the nightcap is the more interesting.
Trying to remain in the wildcard hunt
Necaxa (12 points) welcomes 9th-place Santos Laguna (15 points) in the weekend opener but this game holds little appeal to the general Liga MX fan. The host Rayos are in 13th place thanks primarily to a weak attack and a conservative style, while the Guerreros are among the league’s worst defenses (27 goals allowed). Not an enticing plot-line.
The nightcap – Bravos vs Camoteros – offers a better narrative.
FC Juárez spent big in the transfer market the past two windows and are contending for a playoff spot for the second season in a row and just the second time in franchise history (the Bravos bought out Lobos BUAP in summer 2019 to “earn” a spot in Liga MX).
The 10th-place Border Braves (13 points) host 11th-place Puebla (13 points) with both teams scrambling for one of the 12 postseason berths. FC Juárez is ahead in the standings on goal differential (–3 compared to – 9 for Puebla).
The Camoteros travel north knowing a win could be key in helping them extend their playoff appearance streak to five seasons. This is especially true since Puebla’s four-game stretch run includes matches against 4th-place Toluca and 6th-place Tigres.
“La Franja” has struggled away from home (1-1-4) in Eduardo Arce’s first campaign in charge while conceding 16 goals in six road games. And they’ll arrive to the Estadio Olímpico Benito Juárez on the heels of a 4-0 loss to 12th-place Atlas in their last Liga MX outing (March 17).
The Bravos had been one the more pleasant surprises through the first half of the Liga MX season, but have hit the skids of late. Hernán Cristante’s men have not won since Feb. 11, going 0-2-4 while scoring only 3 goals in that stretch.
FC Juárez is a respectable 2–2-1 at home and have outscored their visitors 8-4 in those five matches. Both of Alfredo Talavera’s shut-outs have come at the Estadio OBJ though the Bravos will surely press forward to test the leaky Puebla defense.
Liga MX injury updates
UNAM goalie Sebastian Sosa could miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken toe in a Pumas training session.
The veteran netminder, 36, had been brought in this season to provide “los felinos” with some security between the pipes but the Pumas defense has been a mess in front of him. UNAM has conceded 24 goals in 12 games during the Clausura 2023, a prime reason the club is in 16th place.
“Los universitarios” travel to Querétaro to face the 17th-place Gallos Blancos on Sunday.
Across town, América revealed that enigmatic winger Roger Martínez has a micro-tear in his right hamstring and he’ll be out indefinitely.
Next. Late Lotti goal rescues Cruz Azul. dark
The third-place Aguilas have been snake-bitten this season with wingers Alejandro Zendejas (5 games) and Leo Suárez (2 games) also missing time. “Los AzulCremas” host second-place León on Saturday.