Seeking their first victory in Liga MX since April, Club Leon travel to Estadio Cuauthemoc for a date with Puebla on matchday three of the Apertura campaign.
Over the weekend, La Franja suffered a 4-1 defeat to Necaxa, while La Fiera could only manage a 0-0 draw against Pachuca.
Match preview
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From the early going on Saturday, Jose Manuel de la Torre's men were on the back foot chasing the game against Necaxa, down by two goals after a quarter of an hour and suffering their first defeat of the Apertura this year.
It was the first time since matchday 15 of the previous Clausura season that they had conceded the opening goal, and Los Camoteros did not earn a single point when allowing the first goal in the previous Apertura and Clausura campaigns.
Meanwhile, their result on Saturday was their worst defeat since a 4-0 loss to Atletico San Luis on matchday 10 of the previous Clausura campaign and the first time they had allowed that many goals in a Liga MX affair since that aforementioned encounter.
Their only victory in the previous Clausura season came at home versus Mazatlan (3-2), and they can equal their longest winning run at Estadio Cuauthemoc from the previous Apertura with a win on Tuesday (two).
La Camoteros are undefeated in their last three home contests against Club Leon across all competitions, winning this exact fixture last year 5-4.
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It has been another poor start to a Liga MX season for Leon, who have just a single point after two matchdays, one more than they had following their opening two encounters in the 2024 Clausura.
Jorge Bava's men have scored a goal or fewer in three consecutive Liga MX affairs, while this club have not gone winless in their opening three Apertura contests since 2018.
Since the previous Clausura season, this team have gone winless in three consecutive away matches, with those two defeats coming against Pumas.
Arguably the strongest attribute of this club last season was their defensive structure, but after two matchdays they have conceded the joint-second-most goals in the Apertura (four).
They have points in three of their previous four meetings with Puebla, though they have not beaten them away from home since the 2021 Apertura (1-0).
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Team News
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We saw the same starting 11 for Puebla on matchday two as matchday one, with Cristian Mares and Rafael Duran being the only newcomers to come off the substitutes bench.
Duran had the only goal in their defeat to Necaxa, as he and Canadian Lucas Cavallini are the only ones to find the back of the net for them in this Apertura campaign.
On Saturday, Leon were without Andres Guardado because of a hamstring injury, and Victor Barajas will be suspended for this encounter following his straight red card against Pachuca.
Alfonso Blanco stopped the three Pachuca efforts that he faced over the weekend for his first clean sheet in this phase of the competition.
Puebla possible starting lineup:
Rodriguez; Ferrerais, Gularte, Orona, Angulo; De Buen; Velasco, Gonzalez, Waller, Duran; Cavallini
Club Leon possible starting lineup:
Blanco; Barreiro, Frias, Bellon, Reyes; Ambriz, Medina; Guerra, Alvarado, Cabral; Ayon
We say: Puebla 1-1 Club Leon
Leon have been notoriously slow starters domestically, and we expect to see a stalemate between two sides that may be a little timid going forward, given how poor they have each looked defensively in transition.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
