Santos Laguna
- Santos Laguna Mexico and Necaxa will be playing their part in a Clausura 2026 battle that starts this weekend with both teams available at close to even odds for Sunday’s Jornada 1 clash.
- This is a fixture that looks good for goals again with Santos Laguna scoring multiple goals in three of their final five matches in 2025, but conceding too often as they finished outside the top six.
Necaxa
- Necaxa, the slight favorites at 1.87, come into the matchup having won only one of their last five Liga MX matches, but they did beat Santos 4-1 on Nov 1, 2025 and had the better of the contest in a 4-3 win over Atlético San Luis earlier in the month.
- Necaxa’s games were goal-fests in the Apertura, with Los Rojiblancos scoring and conceding freely in most matches - particularly during a 5-3 loss to Tigres.
Head-to-Head
- Necaxa have dominated the recent head-to-head record, winning three of the last four meetings in Liga MX, including a 4-1 win over Santos on November 1, 2025.
- Santos Laguna finished 11th in the Apertura 2025 on 20 points, while Necaxa were 13th on 17 points in a season where both were inconsistent.
Key Players
- Santos coach Francisco Rodríguez Vílchez has installed a fast-paced, vertical style since taking over in May 2025 that has produced some spectacular wins and a few defensive lapses - too many for a side that should be in the top eight.
- He has integrated lots of young players and his side can be full of attacking verve, pressing in waves and looking to make the most of turnovers with rapid transitions and forward pushes from the flanks.
- Bruno Barticciotto is a consistent attacking threat, creating and taking chances, and the set-piece threat of a solid defender such as Bruno Amione, who also adds goals, makes them a dangerous side.
- Ramiro Sordo and Jordán Carrillo add further creativity and goals, so Santos are never really predictable.
- Necaxa’s new coach Martín Varini, appointed in December 2025, has his own system - one that is more about possession, tempo in the middle third and controlling the game, but he is happy to be pragmatic when the situation requires it.
- But he will not want to take all the spark out of the front four where Diber Cambindo, a strong, powerful striker, is always a threat and can score plenty of goals.
Betting Insights
- We think there will be plenty of action and a few goals in this game as the teams will be keen to get three points on the board as early as possible in this short Liga MX season - and we will be taking Over 2.5 goals at 1.58.
- Necaxa also have no major injury issues to contend with ahead of the kick-off.
Prediction
Both teams to score looks a good play too, although Necaxa’s domination of the recent meetings, and the odds, will see us take the visitors here in an entertaining 2-1 win.
