Only five games remain in the Liga MX Clausura as teams fight for positions all the way from the top to bottom.
The league’s decision to scrap the Play-In means two fewer teams get to play after the season ends, raising the stakes for sides aiming to finish inside the top eight.
While teams compete for places at the top of the table, several sides find themselves in difficult positions near the bottom, where every match is vital in the fight to avoid finishing the season at the foot of the league.
A race for top spot
Chivas’ 2-0 win over Monterrey before the international break gave them a healthy three-point lead at the top of the table.
Their gap at the top was helped by Cruz Azul and Toluca, who both suffered draws in their final games before the break, but any slip-up from Los Rojiblancos will invite the league’s chasing pack to pile on the pressure.
Diego Milito’s men from Guadalajara have a mixed bag of matches to play with playoff contenders Pumas and Tigres still to play, along with more favorable fixtures against Puebla and Tijuana on the horizon.
Crowded battle for a Clausura playoff position
Club América and Tigres currently occupy the final two spots in the playoffs (8th and 7th respectively) but one mistake will put their postseason hopes at serious risk. Tigres 1-0 loss to Los Xolos yesterday didn’t help their cause.
There’s a host of teams closely watching from below the playoff places. Monterrey is one win away from being level with those above them, and play Atlético de San Luis today. FC Júarez are ruing their Friday 1-1 draw with Puebla, and are two points off. Necaxa’s 2-1 victory over Mazatlán propelled them into 9th (for now), only a point behind the cut. León could join them. Léon could jump from 13th to 10th with a win over Atlas.
Los Bravos have a real chance to make a late push into the top eight, given their remaining schedule. Apart from Pumas, they face teams from the bottom half of the table and will be confident of securing maximum points against Querétaro, Atlético de San Luis, and León, a run of games that could decide who advances beyond the regular season.
A fight against the ‘unwanted’ places
Querétaro and Santos Laguna are both struggling at the bottom of the league, tied on eight points. However, Los Gallos have a game in hand, giving them the opportunity to close the gap on Los Guerreros.
Both teams find themselves three points behind Mazatlán and San Luis, but with only three wins between them, a major swing in form is required to mount any type of comeback.
Other than their next two matches against Club América and Pachuca, Santos’ final matches of the Clausura are against teams outside of the playoffs, but Los Gallos will have to face both Cruz Azul and Toluca, two of the league’s currently top three sides, in order to force a way out of the bottom two.
