Club Tijuana will aim to begin the Liga MX Apertura campaign at 2-0 when they welcome Leon to Estadio Caliente on Friday evening. In their opening match of the new season, Los Xolos defeated Tigres 3-1, while Leon lost 3-2 at home to Atlas. Match preview It took them until the very late stages, but eventually Tijuana broke through on matchday one, scoring twice in stoppage time to earn maximum points against Tigres. On Friday, they can win their first two matches of an Apertura season for the second time in three years, having done so to kick off 2024-25. Dating back to last season, this team have won their last two Apertura affairs not counting the playoffs, blanking Atlas 2-0 in November 2025. Meanwhile, they are unbeaten in their last six Liga MX encounters, ending the Clausura with points in five successive outings.
They have really hit their stride offensively at home of late, netting a combined seven goals in their last three Liga MX games at Estadio Caliente. Sebastian Abreu’s men have won their last two meetings versus Leon in league play by a combined margin of 8-0, crushing them 5-0 at home in the Apertura last year. © Imago / Brazil Photo Press
For a fourth consecutive season, Club Leon have begun an Apertura campaign with a defeat, failing to complete a comeback on matchday one. Javier Gandolfi has seen his side lose their last three Liga MX games, conceding three or more goals in each instance. On Friday, they will hope to avoid losing their first two games of an Apertura campaign for the first time since 2018. At the same time, La Fiera can end an 11-match winless run in the Apertura should they emerge victorious in this upcoming clash.
They have won two of their last three away matches in Liga MX, but lost their final outing as the visitors in the Clausura before the playoffs this year, 4-1 at Toluca. A win for them on Friday would mark their first away triumph against Tijuana since the 2019 Apertura campaign (2-1). Club Tijuana Liga MX form:
Club Leon Liga MX form:
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© Imago / ZUMA Press Wire
There are no big injuries to report for Tijuana heading into this fixture, though Gilberto Rafael Mora Zambrano will hope to make his first appearance in the new Apertura season after a terrific World Cup showing with Mexico.
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Ramiro Arciga got the opener for them on matchday one, with Mourad El Ghezouani netting a brace in the latter stages to give them the win. On the Leon side, Angel Estrada might not be available for them on Friday because of a leg injury.
Diber Cambindo scored and got himself sent off in their match last week which means he will miss this upcoming contest, with their other goal on matchday one coming courtesy of Jordi Cortizo. Club Tijuana possible starting lineup:
Rodriguez; Fernandez, Gomez, Porozo, Ortiz; Tona; Padilla, D. Abreu, Mora, Preciado; Arciga
Club Leon possible starting lineup:
Garcia; Moreno, Vargas, Guevara Possu, Reyes; Rodriguez; Beltran, Echeverria, Arcila; Alvarado
We say: Club Tijuana 2-0 Club Leon The energy that Tijuana brings to the table will be a lot for a Leon side struggling to contain teams with a lot of pace.
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