Club America and Juarez will kick off their new Liga MX campaigns on Saturday, when they meet at the Estadio Azteca in the first round of Apertura fixtures.

The hosts fell short in the knockout rounds of both the Apertura and Clausura competitions last season and will fight to regain the gold this time around under the new management of Andre Jardine.

Match preview

Club America begin the new Mexican domestic campaign hoping to end their wait for more Liga MX glory, having last triumphed in the Apertura phase in 2018.

Under the management of Fernando Ortiz, Las Aguias set their sights on glory last season, and while they were able to top the Apertura table and progress to the semi-finals of the resultant bracket with an 11-2 thrashing of Puebla on aggregate, they would drop out of the competition at the hands of Toluca, eventually losing 3-2 across the two legs.

Hoping to bounce back from that disappointment, America turned their focus to the Clausura stage of the domestic top flight and secured a second-placed finish in the regular season to guarantee passage to the quarter-finals, and after scraping past Atletico San Luis, they would meet Guadalajara in the semi-finals and fall short once again, despite winning their away leg 1-0, as they went on to suffer a 3-1 home defeat and drop out empty-handed as a result.

Following an off-season change, Las Aguilas now head into the new term under the tutelage of Andre Jardine, and after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Monterrey last Wednesday, they now head into the curtain-raiser on the back of a 3-1 friendly win over Cruz Azul on Saturday.

The Mexican giants will now aim to kick off the new campaign with a victory in Jardine's first competitive game in charge, as they bid to establish themselves at the top end of the Liga MX and secure silverware this season.

They meet a Juarez side who will hope to improve their fortunes after a tough league campaign last time around, having firstly sneaked into reclassification in the Apertura phase, only to be quickly dumped out following a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Toluca.

Los Bravos then began the Clausura campaign in January and made a relatively positive start, picking up three victories alongside three losses in their first six outings, but they would be unable to continue that form.

In the remaining 11 outings after that start, Juarez failed to put another win on the board while only managing six draws, and as a result of their struggles, manager Hernan Cristante departed in early April, with Diego Mejia having stepped into the hot seat since.

He was unable to turn their fortunes around at the end of last term, as his first four games in charge produced two draws and two defeats, including a final-day 1-0 loss to Saturday's opponents as Richard Sanchez hit the only goal.

Now with the opportunity for a fresh start this campaign, Los Bravos will hope to begin with what would be an eye-catching result away at the title-hopefuls.

Team News

Club America's attack will again be spearheaded by captain Henry Martin, who contributed 24 goals and 10 assists in 34 Liga MX appearances across the Apertura and Clausura phases last season, taking his tally to 82 goals for the club since arriving in 2018.

He will likely have support from the likes of Jonathan Rodriguez, who netted 12 goals in his debut season for Las Aguilas, and Diego Valdes, who will continue to play a key advanced midfield role this term.

After the completion of his loan spell with Cadiz, Jorge Mere will contend to feature in the middle of the defence at the beginning of the new campaign, although there is plenty of competition from the likes of Israel Reyes, Sebastian Caceres and Nestor Araujo.

Juarez are unable to call on last season's top scorer Gabriel Fernandez, who saw his loan spell from Celta Vigo come to an end in the off-season, while they are also contending with several further departures, as goalkeeper Felipe Rodriguez and defender Carlos Salcedo have departed for Tigres and Cruz Azul respectively.

Midfielders Jordan Sierra and Joel Sonora have also left the club, although they have reinforced in the centre with the signings of free agent Angel Zapata and Chivas loanee Sebastian Perez Bouquet.

Aitor Garcia and Aviles Hurtado have also arrived to bolster the attacking ranks, while Tomas Molina and Diego Chavez will likely battle to lead the line.

Club America possible starting lineup:
Malagon; Layun, Reyes, Caceres, Fuentes; Fidalgo, Sanchez; J Rodriguez, Valdes, B Rodriguez; Martin

Juarez possible starting lineup:
Talavera; L Rodriguez, Ortega, Reyes, Olivera; Bouquet, Zapata, Salas; Hurtado, Molina, Garcia

We say: Club America 3-1 Juarez

Club America will be keen to start their title pursuit off on the front foot, and they should have more than enough quality to see off a Juarez side who have lost several key men over the off-season with home advantage.


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