Club Leon and Pachuca will renew their rivalry on Monday as the two sides meet for the first time in the new Liga MX Apertura campaign at Estadio Leon.
On matchday one, the reigning CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) winners were beaten 2-1 at home to Guadalajara, while Los Tuzos drew 1-1 versus Mazatlan.
Match preview
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Throughout their opening league fixture, Leon seemed to have everything working for them except for the most important thing, their finishing.
With eight shots on target, and 70% possession, while putting together twice as many passes as their opponents last week, it was a game that Nicolas Larcamon knew was right there for the taking, but just like in the previous Apertura season, this group could not seize many of their opportunities.
In the opening phase of this competition last year, La Fiera gave up eight points when scoring the opening goal, often failing to get that insurance marker just like in their first match this season.
Over the past few seasons, the poise and organisation of Leon defensively has usually been first-rate and propelled them near the top of the table, conceding the fewest goals in the previous Clausura campaign (13), only allowing multiple goals in three home fixtures.
The fact that they only allowed four shots on target in their opener and conceded on half of those efforts raised a few eyebrows, particularly after giving up a goal or fewer in seven of their eight CCL encounters this year.
Their opening loss ended a four-match home unbeaten run for Leon in the Apertura, a streak which began with a 4-2 win over Atlas in late August 2022.
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Last week, Pachuca did something we only saw once from them in the entire 2022 Apertura campaign, as they dropped points despite leading in the second half.
Like Leon, they had their chances last week, firing eight efforts on target, but for now, they seem to be lacking cohesion, which perhaps should not be surprising given how much turnover there was from this squad following the conclusion of the 2023 Clausura campaign.
While they dropped two points, Pachuca are currently unbeaten in their last nine Apertura affairs dating back to August 2022 when they defeated Leon 1-0.
The club allowed numerous key players to walk during the off-season, and now Guillermo Almada has a difficult job trying to make a side consisting of several inexperienced academy products competitive.
Over the past few seasons, this club have been among the most consistent from the first portion of the domestic season to the second, missing the Reclassification only once since the beginning of 2020-21.
Los Tuzos have only suffered one defeat in their previous five meetings versus Leon, keeping them off the scoresheet in four of those matches, including a 1-0 triumph in their last visit to Estadio Leon in February (1-0).
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Team News
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Federico Vinas sat out of the opening Leon encounter with a knee injury but could be available for this one, while Fidel Ambriz was a healthy scratch.
Alfonso Alvarado had the only goal in their opening fixture, his first since joining them on a permanent move, while Ivan Moreno also started for the first time since signing a new deal and Omar Fernandez came on as a substitute in place of Lucas Romero.
The last time they defeated Pachuca in a domestic encounter was during the 2022 Clausura campaign when former centre-back Andres Mosquera put them in front in the opening minute, with Victor Davila notching the winner in the second half and Rodolfo Cota only facing two shots in their 2-1 triumph.
Erick Sanchez and Luis Chavez were unavailable for Pachuca in their opening encounter, while Sergio Barreto made his first appearance since joining them from Independiente in Argentina, playing in a back four alongside Miguel Rodriguez, Gustavo Cabral and current Leon loanee Byron Castillo.
Lucas Di Yorio, who was loaned out to Leon last season, notched his first of the new campaign with Los Tuzos, while Oscar Ustari stopped four of the five Mazatlan shots that he faced.
Javier Eduardo Lopez had the only goal the last time they visited Leon, with his team winning 1-0 in the 2023 Clausura campaign as Ustari picked up the clean sheet, while Lopez set up an Israel Luna strike when they beat them by that same score in the 2022 Apertura.
Club Leon possible starting lineup:
Cota; Barreiro, Frias, Tesillo; O. Fernandez, Romero, Angulo, E. Hernandez; Rubio, Alvarado, Davila
Pachuca possible starting lineup:
Ustari; B. Castillo, Cabral, Barreto, M. Rodriguez; Paulino, Marchand, Luna, Figueroa; Di Yorio, De la Rosa
We say: Club Leon 1-0 Pachuca
Even though the result did not go their way on matchday one, we expect Leon to come out strong and show how tough they are defensively in this one.
Pachuca showed us a lot of promise at times in their opener, but it might take a little more time for them to develop some solid chemistry with all the new faces.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
