The Mexican Federation maintained for the Apertura MX 2023 the innovative Play-In system for the Liguilla. First shown by the NBA a couple of years ago, it has been successful and attracted interest among the general public.
In the 2023 Apertura, the first key will feature Atlético San Luis and León. The winner of this one-game series advances as seventh and will face Rayados de Monterrey, who finished second in the round-robin.
The loser of this tie will face the winner of the other Play-In, which will be played by Santos Laguna and Mazatlán, ninth and tenth, respectively. The winner of this third duel in the format will advance to the quarterfinals and face Club América, who finished first in the regular season.
In other words, the four teams that finished between seventh and tenth place will seek the last two berths for the Playoffs of the Apertura 2023. There will be only three matches of maximum interest for the league.
Apertura MX 2023 Liguilla Play-In: Atlético San Luis vs. Club León
When:
Thursday, November 23, 8:00 p.m. ET at the Estadio Alfonso Lastras
Moneyline odds:
Atlético San Luis +170
Club León +150
Draw Offs:
+240
Where Can I Watch?
During the start of the Liga MX, the leader was Atletico San Luis, giving the impression of being a strong team in every aspect. However, when they suffered their second defeat of the season (3-2 against Pumas), their performance dropped.
The San Luis de Potosí team closed the first phase with five matches without a win, drawing only once and losing the other four. Despite having an effective forward line, with 31 goals in total, they had a weak defense, having the third-highest number of goals conceded among the qualified teams (26).
León did not have a good time throughout the round-robin phase. However, on the last matchday, they took advantage and beat Juárez 2-1 at home to secure their place in the Play-In.
Before this, they had four games without a win. Among all the qualified teams, they are the second worst offensively (23), but their defense was decent, allowing 22 goals. In the last two games against Atlético San Luis, they lost and conceded six goals in total.
Atlético San Luis vs. Club León Betting Pick: Club León
Apertura MX 2023 Liguilla Play-In: Santos Laguna vs. Mazatlán
When:
Thursday, November 23, 10:10 p.m. ET at the Nuevo Estadio Corona
Moneyline odds:
Santos Laguna -166
Mazatlán +400
Draw Offs:
+320
Where Can I Watch?
Among all the qualified teams, Santos Laguna is probably the most irregular. From Matchday 8 to 17, they won or lost, but didn’t draw again. They never won two consecutive matches, but on the day they had to win to maintain their position, they did so, beating Atletico San Luis 2-1 as visitors.
Their 31 goals make them a fearsome front line, and they have in their ranks the best scorer of the championship so far, the Colombian Harold Preciado, who finished with 11 goals. Argentine Juan Brunetta contributed another 8, plus 11 assists.
Mazatlán is used to being in the last positions, but a final run of four wins in five games allowed them to climb into the Play-In, obtaining 11 points and a goal difference of -2, which helped it to take out Pachuca (-11). In this good run, they beat Santos Laguna 3-1, and their best scorer was the Ivorian Ake Loba, who finished with six goals.
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