Liga MX is back. Here's everything you need to know.

January is a horrible, unforgiving month, filled with bad weather and depressingly skimp post-holiday bank accounts. Liga MX is here to make all of your problems go away.

Mexico's top flight returns on Friday, and with any luck, the Clausura will be a bit wilder than the Apertura. Because five Liga MX teams are participating in continental competitions this spring, things might get a bit messy domestically, with teams who don't have to deal with traveling abroad taking advantage.

Don't know how to watch or why you should watch? Or maybe you've followed before, but you feel really behind? We can help.

Liga MX is really easy to find on TV

As always, this is the best reason to get into Liga MX if you haven't been watching: because you can. Unless you live in a strange market with no access to Spanish channels, you're going to be able to watch more Liga MX every week than MLS, Serie A and Bundesliga. All games can be found on one of these networks: Univision, Univision Deportes, ESPN Deportes, Telemundo or Azteca America. Occasionally, you can find games in English on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News and Mun2.

I heard Ronaldinho is kicking around in Liga MX? What's the deal with that?

Ronaldinho plays for Queretaro FC, which is kind of an old guys' paradise. They recently picked up 32-year-old Emmanuel Villa, and Ronaldinho occasionally plays with fellow ancient playmaker Sinha, who is 38. They could be pretty fun to watch, but sadly, their top scorer Camilo is out for the season with a torn ACL. They are, technically, in a relegation battle, but unlikely to fall behind the four teams below them.

Chivas might get relegated

While there are three teams in worse shape than Chivas, they're still very much in danger of going down. Liga MX decides relegation based on a team's aggregate points over six tournaments, and Chivas currently average 1.03 points per game over the last five. Three teams are below them with exactly one point per game.

For teams that have recently come up from Ascenso MX, only their points in the top flight count. That means that wins are huge and losses are extremely punishing for newcomers Universidad de Guadalajara, and to a lesser extent, previous promotion winners Veracruz. Chivas can survive a very bad season -- say, 13 or 14 points -- if one of those teams has serious struggles.

Chivas seems pretty unconcerned about relegation, and are banking on one of those teams or Puebla having a disastrous run. They didn't spend big, but the acquisitions of Toluca attacker Isaac Brizuela and their former youth product Erick 'Cubo' Torres -- on loan from MLS -- should boost their attack.

Club America: Now with flair?

Last season's champions let their manager go because he was boring. Enter Gustavo Matosas, who guided Club Leon to promotion, then a league title with the type of entertaining football that chairman Ricardo Peláez and Grupo Televisa want to see.

America brought in big names during the offseason, adding Colombian international attacker Darwin Quintero from Santos Laguna and midfielder Cristian Pellerano from Tijuana. Left back Miguel Samudio will be less familiar to Liga MX fans, but he was an impact player for Libertad in their numerous Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana campaigns during his time there.

The hype train is rolling at the Azteca, but it's worth noting that Matosas was let go from his last job for poor results. He had a good squad at his disposal and struggled to bring even moderate success to Leon when some of his top players were sold or injured. And while Pellerano is an exciting capture, can he really replace the departed Jesus Molina, one tournament after America ditched and didn't really replace Juan Carlos Medina?

Pretty football is nice and all, but it won't matter much if America aren't winning trophies.

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Wave goodbye to a departing legend

Since 2007, we've had the pleasure of watching Chilean international striker Humberto Suazo lead the line for Monterrey. In his time with the club, he helped to deliver two Mexican Primera titles and an incredible three consecutive CONCACAF Champions League titles. He was named the best player of the tournament twice in Mexico, and was considered by most to be the top club player in CONCACAF for many seasons more than that.

He's left Monterrey having scored 121 goals in 250 appearances across all competitions for the club. He's moved on to Colo-Colo, the team he guided to three Chilean titles before moving to Liga MX.

Dramatic upheaval at Santos and Morelia

The 2014 Apertura was a disappointing one for Santos Laguna, who failed to make Liguilla, and a really disappointing one for Morelia, who finished dead last. They're the teams that made the most notable changes during the winter, and they'll come into this tournament looking pretty unrecognizable.

Santos parted ways with the aforementioned Quintero, along with club legends Oswaldo Sanchez and Juan Pablo Rodriguez, plus veteran playmaker Mauro Cejas. A pair of Argentines from Lanus, goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín and defensive midfielder Diego Gonzalez, came in. And America gave Santos a decent deal for Quintero -- Molina and Luis Angel Mendoza went the other way. Some other fringe players arrived from other Liga MX sides as well, with three more arriving than exiting. Expect to see a deeper Santos this season.

Morelia, meanwhile, brought in seven new players while shipping out only one permanently, since they're in Copa Libertadores and in need of a big squad. Their reinforcements are a mix of Liga MX veterans and foreign imports with impressive records abroad, though it'll be tough to evaluate them before seeing those new players from other leagues in action. Striker Yorleys Mena, versatile attacker Jefferson Cuero and defender Rafael García are their new arrivals from South America. They've also added Cejas, mentioned above, and minutes older Pumas twin Marco Antonio Palacios. His goalkeeper brother will be without big bro in front of him for the first time in his pro career.

3 up and coming El Tri players to watch

1. Arturo Gonzalez - Also likely to be referred to as 'Ponchito', if you're watching a game trying to figure out who he is, and you only speak broken Spanish. The 20-year-old right winger has already scored his first goal for Mexico's senior team and has been getting a little bit better with each tournament. This could be the one where he breaks out and becomes a major star, perhaps earning himself a big move to Europe in the summer after a likely Copa America trip.

2. Isaac Brizuela - Another awesome nickname you'll need to remember -- 'Conejito'. Brizuela's career has stalled a bit recently but he'll get a chance to shine on a Chivas side that's mostly filled with former stars who are past their prime or younger players who aren't ready to carry the load yet. It's very likely that he'll be the key to all of their attacks, and an impressive season could get him back in Miguel Herrera's good graces.

3. Luis Montes - He's not a youngster, but the 28-year-old Montes is an up-and-comer again because of his injury. He was set to be a key player for Mexico at the World Cup before he had his leg snapped in a friendly, and that injury forced him to sit out the entire 2014 Apertura. He'll be back in the Club Leon lineup this season, but will he be the same player? Some recover from leg breaks like his quickly, some need a year or two to get back on track, and some are never the same player ever again.

Who's going to win the title?

America's big offseason signings make them a sexy pick, but they lost as many important players as they picked up, and it might take more than one winter for Matosas to implement his vision. America are also in the knockout stages of CONCACAF Champions League and might actually take it seriously. Tigres and Atlas have great squads, but they're going to be crippled by their participation in Copa Libertadores. Rarely does a team that has to travel to South America four-plus times make an impact in the Clausura.

Most of the teams immediately below that group look improved and ready to challenge for a title. It would be shocking to see Chiapas pull it off, but Monterrey, Toluca, Pumas and Santos Laguna all look like strong contenders. Look for one of those teams to jump up and grab the Liga MX title this season. Monterrey's Edwin Cardona looks like the most exciting signing any of those teams have made, and along with fellow Colombian additions Alexander Mejía and Yimmi Chara, might push them over the top.

Week 1 schedule (all times ET)

Friday

Santos Laguna vs. Veracruz - 9 p.m., Azteca America
Monarcas Morelia vs. Toluca - 10:30 p.m., ESPN Deportes

Saturday

Club America vs. Club Leon - 6 p.m., Univision
Puebla vs. Club Tijuana - 6 p.m., ESPN Deportes
UANL Tigres vs. Club Atlas - 8 p.m., Univision Deportes
Pachuca vs. Cruz Azul - 9 p.m., Telemundo
Jaguares Chiapas vs. Chivas Guadalajara - 10 p.m., Univision Deportes

Sunday

Pumas UNAM vs. Queretaro - 1 p.m., Univision Deportes
U. de Guadalajara vs. Monterrey - 6 p.m., Univision Deportes