Club Tijuana and Pumas get their 2023-24 Liga MX campaigns underway when they meet at the Estadio Caliente on Friday night.
After underwhelming seasons in the Apertura and Clausura for both clubs, a strong start will help forget the disappointments of missing out on the playoffs.
Match preview
Both Tijuana and Pumas finished outside the top 13 in the Clausura, which came to an end in May, meaning the two clubs missed out on the playoffs in both stages of the season.
An improvement in this year's Apertura, which gets underway across the coming weekend, will be high on the agenda for both clubs.
However, qualification for the playoffs has been made tougher, with only 10 sides progressing from the regular season.
The changes also include the top six qualifying directly for the quarter-finals, instead of only the top four, but one thing which remains unchanged is the absence of relegation from Mexico's top tier.
Struggles post-pandemic threatened the future of Mexico's league pyramid, so this season will become the third consecutive campaign with no relegation.
Ahead of the start of the Apertura, Tijuana will be keen to put their dreadful end to last term behind them.
Just one win from their final eight games saw them finish low down the standings, with that solitary win coming against Mazatlan, the club which finished bottom of the Clausura.
The campaign as a whole was borderline disastrous for El Xolaje, as they are currently on a run of just three wins from 26, and that showed in their league positions, coming 15th in both the Apertura and the Clausura.
The last five meetings between the sides here have produced just three goals, but Tijuana have run out 1-0 winners on two of those occasions.
That is indicative of Pumas' struggles when travelling to Tijuana, which is the polar opposite of when they face them at home, losing just one of the last nine meetings in Mexico City.
Pumas were beaten CONCACAF Champions League finalists last season, but that run on the continent really saw their league form suffer.
Finishing 16th in last year's Apertura while they focused on matters in the Champions League was a huge shock, and they followed that up with an equally-disappointing 14th-placed finish in the Clausura.
A run of eight defeats in their final 12 games saw Pumas miss out on the playoffs by just a point and ended any hopes of returning to North America's top table this year.
Team News
Tijuana will be without attacker Lucas Cavallini, who is currently on Gold Cup duty with Canada and scored in the Maple Leafs' draw with Guadeloupe on Tuesday night.
A number of players could make their debuts for the club, though, as Tijuana have been busy in the transfer window during the brief pre-season break.
After 14 years at Cruz Azul, Tijuana have moved to sign 42-year-old goalkeeper Jose de Jesus Corona, and the veteran could make his first appearance here.
Kevin Balanta is in line for a second debut after rejoining from Queretaro, alongside Rafael Fernandez, and the club have also bolstered their attack, signing former Pumas man Carlos Gonzalez from Toluca, where he netted 12 goals last season.
Pumas will start the season with just 19 recognised first-team players, and one of which, goalkeeper Sebastian Sosa, is currently out injured.
Former Tijuana keeper Gil Alcala has joined to provide competition to Julio Gonzalez while Sosa continues to recover from injury.
Nathan Silva has arrived from Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro in one of the more eye-catching signings of the window in Mexico.
Retaining the services of Juan Dinenno has also been a huge bonus for Pumas as he netted 23 goals last season, nine of which came on their run to the CONCACAF Champions League final.
Club Tijuana possible starting lineup:
Corona; Godinez, Govea, Lopez, Balanta, Contreras; Castanada, Lertora, Martinez; C Gonzalez, Canelo
Pumas possible starting lineup:
J Gonzalez; Bennevendo, Ortiz, Nathan Silva, Monroy; Salvio, Caicedo, Rivas, Huerta Valera; Del Prete, Dinenno
We say: Club Tijuana 1-1 Pumas
In this opening day clash, two of last season's underperformers will hope to get off to a better start.
Goals have been at a premium in recent encounters though, and with Tijuana missing their leading forward Cavallini, they will certainly be weakened in that department.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Andrew Delaney
