Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Liga MX clash between Atlas and Tigres, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
In their first home match of the 2024 Liga MX Apertura campaign, Atlas will welcome Tigres to Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara on Friday.
Los Zorros came from behind on matchday one last Friday to claim a 1-1 draw, while Los Tigres came away with a 1-0 triumph over Necaxa.
Match preview
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A resilient Atlas side managed to erase a pair of one-goal deficits last weekend to begin the Apertura campaign with a single point.
Benat San Jose and his side will try to put what occurred last season behind them, finishing second from bottom in the Apertura and Clausura campaigns, respectively.
Their only three victories in the Clausura last season occurred at home, though they lost four of their final five domestic matches played in Guadalajara.
While they were not all that sharp defensively last season, conceding the fourth-most goals in the Clausura (31), overall, Los Rojinegros were much better at home, with seven of their eight domestic clean sheets occurring at Jalisco Stadium.
If they can avoid defeat on Friday, this would mark the first time this team will have begun a league season unbeaten in their first two games since the 2023 Clausura campaign.
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Big things are expected of Tigres during the 2024-25 domestic campaign, and the eight-time champions delivered a narrow victory in their opener.
They have not lifted the Apertura trophy since 2017, but expectations will be high for a side with plenty of experience and quality, plus a new manager.
That attacking quality was difficult to stop last season, as the club from Monterrey scored the second-most goals in the Apertura (32) and Clausura (34).
Veljko Paunovic will be tasked with improving their defensive deficiencies we saw late into their previous Clausura season, when they conceded in their final five matches, allowing multiple strikes on four of those occasions.
They have not won a league fixture against Atlas away from home since February 2023 (1-0), their only victory in their previous five visits to Estadio Jalisco across all competitions.
Atlas Liga MX form:
Tigres Liga MX form:
Team News
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Brian Lozano missed the opening match of the season for Atlas as he is still recovering from knee surgery and Mauro Manotas was sidelined with an ACL injury.
Second-half strikes from Eduardo Aguirre, on loan from Santos Laguna, and Luis Reyes enabled them to claim a single point on matchday one.
Tigres’s starting 11 one matchday one was the same as the one that began their Supercopa MX final versus Club America at the end of June (2-1 defeat), with Juanjo Purata and Marcelo Flores the only newcomers to see the field.
A 19th-minute penalty converted by Andre-Pierre Gignac was all they needed to defeat Necaxa, as Carlos Felipe Rodriguez stopped all the shots he faced for a clean sheet.
Atlas possible starting lineup:
Hernandez; Zaldivar, Nervo, Mora, L. Reyes; Rocha, Rios; Murillo, Marquez, R. Lozano; E. Aguirre
Tigres possible starting lineup:
Rodriguez; Aquino, Pizarro, D. Reyes, Angulo; Gorriaran, Carioca; Flores, Brunetta, Cordova; Gignac
We say: Atlas 0-1 Tigres
While Tigres have plenty of attacking quality to call upon, it might take some time for them to find their form in the final third as they begin a new campaign.
That said, Tigres showed they can defend comfortably on matchday one, and against a side like Atlas still trying to find their identity, we believe the visitors will be able to contain them throughout the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.