Looking to secure back-to-back home successes, Necaxa will welcome Mexican heavyweights Monterrey to Estadio Victoria for a Liga MX Apertura clash on Wednesday night.
Los Rayos enjoyed their maiden victory of the term on home soil last time out, whereas Rayados suffered their heaviest defeat of the decade on Sunday.
Match preview
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On the first day of the 2024-25 Liga MX campaign, Necaxa were victims of a French footballing hero at Estadio Universitario, where former Les Bleus and Marseille marksman Andre-Pierre Gignac netted his 213th strike as a Tigres player to secure a one-goal victory for the hosts.
Desperate to avoid another defeat and collect their maiden points of the term, Los Rayos put on a brilliant show at Estadio Victoria on Sunday afternoon, beating Puebla 4-1 courtesy of a brace from Diber Cambindo, as well as goals from Agustin Palavecino and Kevin Rosero.
After the first two matches of the Liga MX Apertura campaign, Wednesday's hosts are currently occupying seventh place in the 18-team division, with a handsome victory on the weekend meaning that they could theoretically rise to second place with another success in this one.
Continuing with their transfer strategy of recruiting exciting talent who are approaching the peak years of their careers, Los Rayos have welcomed Rosero and Raul Sandoval to the club during the summer transfer window, on top of 27-year-old River Plate loanee Palavecino.
Eduardo Fentanes assumed managerial responsibilities for Necaxa in the aftermath of their terrible 2023-24 Apertura season, in which Los Rayos finished rock bottom of the 18-team standings, winning only three and collecting just 15 points from 17 top-flight contests.
Despite the large disparity in quality between Necaxa and Monterrey over recent campaigns, the two sides approach Wednesday's night meeting on level terms in the league standings, with the visitors winning one and losing one of their opening two fixtures in the 2024-25 Apertura.
Bringing extensive experience from the top level of European football, 33-year-old midfielder Sergio Canales netted the winner for Rayados against Pachuca in the season opener, with the veteran showcasing all the talents of a man who has featured 11 times for Spain's senior side.
Any hopes of Monterrey maintaining their 100% record further into July were destroyed in sensational fashion on Sunday, when Cruz Azul rocked up at Estadio BBVA and recorded a 4-0 victory, with Carlos Rotondi's double the highlight of a remarkable showing from the visitors.
Fernando Ortiz's troops have used their Spanish connections so far during the summer trading point, bringing in Oliver Torres on a permanent deal following his five-year stint at La Liga powerhouses Sevilla.
Monterrey have an excellent recent record in this fixture, winning all of the last five meetings with Necaxa, who last tasted success against Rayados back in October 2021, when a 100th-minute strike from Rodrigo Aguirre sealed a momentous triumph for the visitors in Guadalupe.
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Team News
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Necaxa remain without the services of midfielder Alek Alvarez, who sustained a shoulder injury at the end of February and is not expected back in time for Wednesday night.
After such a handsome win last time out, Los Rayos should continue with an unchanged XI, meaning that Alexis Pena will partner Agustin Oliveros at centre-back.
That being said, summer arrival Rosero is banging on the door for his full debut following a goal off the bench on the weekend, and he could potentially steal Ricardo Monreal's spot in the side.
New signing Torres is yet to feature for Monterrey as he recovers from a shoulder issue, so Jorge Rodriguez is set to continue at the base of midfield.
Ortiz is likely to make changes to his XI in the aftermath of such a disappointing defeat on Sunday, with Maximiliano Meza and Erick Aguirre bracing for demotions to the bench.
Necaxa possible starting lineup:
Unsain; Gonzalez, Pena, Oliveros, Mayorga; Arce, Palavecino, Garnica, Paradela, Rosero; Cambindo
Monterrey possible starting lineup:
Andrada; Guzman, Vegas, Medina; Rodriguez, Cortizo, Canales, Aguirre, Corona; Vasquez, Beterame
We say: Necaxa 2-1 Monterrey
After an excellent result on the weekend, Necaxa should be confident of ending their five-game losing run against Monterrey on Wednesday night.
Rayados need to bounce back quickly following a humbling defeat on Sunday, but we feel that Ortiz's troops will fall just short at Estadio Victoria.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
