Santos Laguna
- Santos Laguna Mexico will be looking to end their dismal season in style when they host CF Rayados de Monterrey in this Sunday’s Clausura 2026 season-ender.
- The long odds on the hosts are well-earned after they won only one and tied one of their last five fixtures, losing 4-2 to Pachuca and 3-0 to Chivas within that run.
- Off-field matters have caused much of the upheaval at this club, but interim coach Omar Tapia has had to try to bring order to the squad since taking charge in February 2026.
- Tapia’s main focus has been to get the players to work hard and stay disciplined at the back, but Santos’ natural style of play has always been a high-tempo, vertical style with pressing high up the field and then transitioning quickly to attack.
Monterrey
- Monterrey, on the other hand, prefer to keep things more controlled and possession-based, dictating the tempo and rhythm of the game with patient, disciplined build-up play.
- They will look to control the ball and prevent Santos from getting into their forward zones in this match.
- Monterrey are mid-table with around 18 points from 16 matches, one point outside the automatic Liguilla places.
Head-to-Head
- Monterrey have dominated this fixture in Liga MX, winning all five meetings with an aggregate score of 12-2.
- The home side have not beaten Monterrey in this league in over two years.
Key Players
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Monterrey key players:
- Canales’ presence on the pitch dictates whether Monterrey score goals or not, but the defence is a problem that Sánchez hasn’t solved in the last couple of months.
- Uroš Đurđević leads the line for Rayados, but he needs good service from the likes of Orellano, Torres and Ocampos to do his best work.
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Santos Laguna key players:
- Ezequiel Bullaude has the best stats on the Santos Laguna scoring charts and is their best attacking outlet, so he will be key to any hopes they have of taking something from this game.
- Brian Rodríguez and Lucas Di Yorio will also offer some attacking spark, but it’s probably not enough to threaten a Monterrey team that has dominated this fixture in the recent past.
Betting Insights
- The odds heavily favour the visiting Rayados at 1.81 with Santos Laguna available at 3.76 and the draw at 3.92.
- The over 2.5 goals option is coming in at 1.44 which looks a little short for two teams in this division.
- But Monterrey will score goals and concede them too, so the over bet appeals in this spot.
- The hot and windy conditions that prevail in Torreón this time of year can also cause the pace to slow down as the clock ticks on and the players get tired, so the second-half is a key time to get goals.
Prediction
- Both clubs are under pressure off the pitch with Rayados making changes to their sporting structure and Santos trying to rebuild under Tapia, so we expect the away side to hold up to their superior league form and nick a win.
- The home side have not beaten Monterrey in this league in over two years, so the away team have a grip on this game and we are taking them to come away with a 2-1 victory in this one.
