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Tigres will start their Liguilla campaign with a visit to Leon. Leon had a roller coaster of a season, beginning with a terrible start that cost coach Javier Torrente his job. New coach Gustavo Diaz turned things around and Leon became one of the hottest teams in the league but eventually finished off poorly, falling all the way down to seventh place. Tigres, on the other hand, finished in second place but took a huge hit when they lost 2-0 against the favorite and their biggest nemesis, Rayados de Monterrey.
Tigres will come to this series as the heavy favorite. In the minds of most people, they have the biggest squad. Their forward line of Andre Pierre Gignac, Eduardo Vargas and Enner Valencia, is potentially the best in the league. Yet their star player, Gignac, didn't have a great season. While it's expected for him to repeat his career path and light it up in the Liguilla, it's still not a a guarantee. Tigres is also coming from the huge knock of losing the Clasico Regio against their rivals Monterrey in the final game of the season. It was not only that they lost but that they were severely outclassed. Thus what was before a debate about who was going to be the favorite to win it all, suddenly had Monterrey as the clear answer to that question. They will also have a tough battle against a Leon team that has given scares to them before.
Leon had a terrible start to the season that finished with coach Javier Torrente’s job after he criticized fans for expecting great play. Gustavo Diaz came in as coach and turned things around. Leon won game after game, including beating teams like America and Tigres at home. Leon looked at their best with a crushing 6-2 victory over Veracruz, but then in their last two games the team's play went south. Leon lost against struggling Tijuana away and at home against already eliminated Chivas. The losses dropped them down all the way to seventh and raised huge doubts on the team.
Leon will really have to rise up in their home game to have an opportunity to get through Tigres. While Tigres lost badly to Monterrey, Leon isn't Monterrey. It will also mean that Gustavo Diaz Liguilla's debut will be against the most experienced coach in Mexico, Ricardo Ferretti. Leon will have their best opportunity to do something but Tigres will be expected to get through even if they might not win Wednesday's game.
Date: Wednesday, November 22
Time: 7:36 PM Pacific, 9:36 PM Central, 10:36 PM Eastern
Venue: Estadio Nou Camp, Leon, Mexico
Television: Univision Deportes (US-Spanish)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription)
Listings via LiveSoccerTV.com.