Santos Laguna (home)
- Santos Laguna Mexico will be under pressure to bounce back at home against a solid FC Juarez outfit when the Clausura 2026 season gets under way in Torreón on Sunday.
- Both teams will be looking to build some early momentum with Juarez, who finished strongly in the Apertura, arriving with three points in the standings after their 2-1 road win at Mazatlán, while Santos Laguna are on zero after their disappointing 1-3 home defeat to Necaxa last weekend.
- However, his team continue to lack structure and discipline in defense, a problem that has carried over into the new season.
- With Javier Abella suspended after his red card at Necaxa, Santos will be without him for this game and their back four could be in trouble again.
FC Juárez (away)
- Juárez play the kind of pragmatic, risk-averse football that suits Pedro Caixinha’s personality down to the ground.
- The Portuguese tactician has an uncanny knack of getting his teams to stay compact and disciplined, even when playing with a low-block, and ensuring they are a threat on the counter-attack and from set pieces.
Head-to-Head
- Head-to-head, Santos have won eight of the 17 Liga MX matches played against Juárez, losing five and drawing four.
- Juárez have won the last two and beat Santos 2-1 in August 2025.
Key Players
Key players (quick list):
- Juárez have a keeper who is reliable, saves goals and keeps things tight at the back in Sebastián Jurado, while Denzell García and José Luis Rodríguez add defensive steel and an attacking contribution from midfield.
- The visitors will be tough to break down and very dangerous on the break with the pace and finishing ability of Madson and Óscar Estupiñán.
- Sebastián Jurado
- Denzell García
- José Luis Rodríguez
- Madson
- Óscar Estupiñán
Betting Insights
Juárez are 2.26 to win this match-up, with Santos at 3.0 and the draw at 3.4 .
Prediction
Over 2.5 goals looks a decent price at 1.7 for a clash of this nature, but our selection is for the Under 2.5 goals bet as the visitors are not a high-scoring team and both sides will be keen to keep it tight early in the season.
