CD Guadalajara will aim to continue their perfect start to the Liga MX season on Friday, when they welcome Necaxa to the Estadio Akron.
The hosts have kicked off with back-to-back wins to sit at the top of the Liga MX table at this early stage, while their visitors have drawn both of their opening two games and will hope to pull off an upset for their first victory of the term.
Match preview
CD Guadalajara headed into the 2023-24 edition of the Liga MX with the aim of securing domestic silverware for the first time since 2017, after falling just short last time around, firstly finishing ninth in the Apertura phase and losing in reclassification.
The Chivas Rayadas did then enjoy a stronger run in the Clausura competition, booking a quarter-final place with a third-placed finish, and they would advance all the way to the final with triumphs over Atlas and Club America, only to meet Tigres in the final and fall at the very last hurdle, eventually losing 3-2 in extra time despite going 2-0 up through Roberto Alvarado and Victor Guzman.
Following on from that agony in late May, Veljko Paunovic's side quickly turned their focus to the new term in their bid to end the wait for another top-flight title, and they would make a positive start in a tough opening-day trip to Leon, eventually coming away with a 2-1 victory thanks to Jonathan Padilla's 81st-minute goal after Antonio Briseno's opener was cancelled out.
Hoping to make it two wins from two, the Chivas Rayadas then hosted Atletico San Luis on Sunday and came away with all three points again, as Padilla and Fernando Beltran put them 2-0 up before Ronaldo Cisneros wrapped up an eventual 3-1 victory with an 80th-minute goal.
Now with a degree of confidence as the Liga MX's only side with two wins on the board, Guadalajara will be keen to establish themselves at the top end of the Apertura table to book an automatic quarter-finals place in the knockout phase and will look to make it nine points from three games on Friday before the break in league action.
Their visitors, meanwhile, make the difficult trip with the aim of putting a first victory on the board at the third time of asking.
Necaxa endured a tough campaign last time around, and while they did sneak into 12th spot in the Apertura table, a 2-0 defeat to Tigres prevented them from going any further than reclassification, before Los Rayos has a Clausura campaign to forget, eventually finishing 17th in the table with just three wins and 14 points from their 17 outings.
The campaign culminated in a 3-0 beating at the hands of Toluca at the end of April, and they would return to action against the same opposition this year under the new management of Rafael Dudamel, improving their fortunes somewhat to begin with a goalless draw away from home.
Los Rayos then hosted Club Tijuana last time out, and with their wait for a first goal continuing, they looked set to fall to a 1-0 defeat following Carlos Gonzalez's 73rd-minute opener for the visitors, but Alan Montes would pop up with an important leveller in injury time to force a share of the spoils.
Having now avoided defeat in each of their opening two matches, Dudamel's side will hope to put a first notch in their wins column on Friday but certainly face a tough test on their travels.
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Team News
Guadalajara could come into Friday's game with an unchanged starting XI from their 3-1 win over Atletico San Luis, although Ronaldo Cisneros does have a claim to come into the attack from the outset after netting their third off the bench in that game.
Jonathan Padilla will certainly keep his place on the left wing, having found the net in both of their first two league games this season, while Isaac Brizuela will likely complete the attack.
Fernando Beltran and Victor Guzman should again pair up in midfield, while Jesus Orozco, Antonio Briseno and Gilberto Sepulveda will likely line up in the middle of the defence.
Necaxa boss Rafael Dudamel may call on striker Facundo Batista, who only featured off the bench last time out, to lead the line on Friday, after he netted a team-high tally of nine goals in 29 appearances last season.
He will hope to displace Maximiliano Silvera up front, while Brayan Garnica and Edgar Mendez should again start on the wings in a 5-4-1 setup.
Following their solid displays in the first two league outings, Cristian Gonzalez, Alan Montes, Fabricio Formiliano, Alexis Pena and Agustin Oliveros should all keep their places in a back five, in front of Raul Gudino, who has taken up the mantle of first-choice stopper this term.
CD Guadalajara possible starting lineup:
Jimenez; Mozo, Orozco, Sepulveda, Briseno, Calderon; Guzman, Beltran; Brizuela, Cisneros, Padilla
Necaxa possible starting lineup:
Gudino; Gonzalez, Montes, Formiliano, Pena, Oliveros; Garnica, Poggi, Esquivel, Mendez; Batista
We say: CD Guadalajara 2-0 Necaxa
Necaxa have been resilient in their first two games of the new season, but Friday presents a much trickier test, and we see this confident Guadalajara side making it three wins on the bounce on home turf.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
