Apertura 2026 matchday 16 preview: Pumas v América and three leaders on 29 points

Matchday 16 of the Apertura 2026 arrives with three sides level at the top on 29 points, and all three play away. The one to watch is on Saturday at Ciudad Universitaria: Pumas, tenth on 20, host the leaders, América. The same day Cruz Azul visit Tigres, and on Sunday Guadalajara close the matchday at León. Two matchdays remain, and the top eight go straight to the Liguilla.

Friday 6 November

Atlético de San Luis v Juárez (19:00 Mexico City time). At the Estadio Libertad Financiera. Atlético de San Luis, 13th on 19 points, lost 1–0 at home to Atlas on matchday 15. Juárez, bottom on 8, beat Querétaro 3–1 for their second win of the tournament. Juárez won the last two meetings, 2–1 at home in April 2026 and 2–1 away in November 2025; San Luis won 1–0 at home in March 2025.

Necaxa v Tijuana (19:00 Mexico City time). At the Estadio Victoria. Necaxa, 17th on 10 points, lost 1–0 in Torreón and have not won since matchday 2. Tijuana, sixth on 22, drew 3–3 in Monterrey with two goals from Adonis Preciado and have drawn four of their last five matches. Necaxa won 3–0 at home in March 2026; Tijuana won 3–0 at home in September 2025.

Atlante v Santos Laguna (21:00 Mexico City time). At the Estadio Banorte. Atlante, 16th on 14 points, lost 4–2 in Guadalajara and can no longer reach eighth place. Santos Laguna, eighth on 22, beat Necaxa 1–0 and have won four of their last five matches. The only recent meeting is a friendly in December 2025, which Atlante won 3–0 away.

Saturday 7 November

Atlas v Pachuca (17:00 Mexico City time). At the Estadio Jalisco. Atlas, fourth on 27 points, won 1–0 in San Luis with a goal from Florián Monzón and are two points off the top. Pachuca, 12th on 19, beat Tigres 3–0 and have won two in a row; Salomón Rondón is the tournament's top scorer with 15, and Excélsior reports that the club has renewed his contract until 2028. Pachuca are unbeaten in the last three meetings with Atlas: they won 3–1 at home in February 2026 and 3–0 away in August 2025. Atlas won 2–0 at home in September 2024.

Tigres v Cruz Azul (19:00 Mexico City time). At the Estadio Universitario. Tigres, 15th on 15 points, lost 3–0 in Pachuca, with Alan Franco sent off in the 80th minute, and can no longer finish in the top eight. Cruz Azul, third on 29, beat León 2–1 and have won four in a row; with 34 goals they have the second-best attack. According to El Universal, their coach, Joel Huiqui, said the team had trained with the full squad for the first time and called it ‘a very committed group, very complete’. Tigres have not beaten Cruz Azul in the last five meetings: Cruz Azul won 2–1 at home in February 2026, and in December 2025 they drew 1–1 twice.

Toluca v Monterrey (19:00 Mexico City time). At the Estadio Nemesio Díez. Toluca, fifth on 24 points, drew 2–2 at América and are without a win in seven matches, the last four of them draws. Monterrey, ninth on 21 with a match in hand, drew 3–3 with Tijuana; Hugo Cuypers scored twice and Lucas Ocampos got the other. According to Fox Sports México, Cuypers, called up by Belgium for the first time, is expected to get minutes against Toluca but will miss the rearranged match in Querétaro. Toluca won 1–0 in Monterrey in January 2026 and 3–2 at home in December 2025; in September they also won 2–0 in the Leagues Cup.

Pumas v América (21:10 Mexico City time). At the Estadio Olímpico Universitario. Pumas won 2–1 in Puebla with a goal from Álvaro Angulo in the 90th minute; Juninho has nine goals. Their coach, Esteban Solari, summed it up after the match, according to Fox Sports México: ‘Obviously we have two finals left’. Récord lists Sebastián Córdova and Cristian Calderón as Pumas absentees. América lead on goal difference and have the best attack, with 36, but have taken two points from their last three matches; on matchday 15 they drew 2–2 with Toluca with two goals from Henry Martín, the second a penalty at 90+2, and Santiago Bueno was sent off in the 85th, so Récord does not include him for the derby; the same paper suggests Brian Rodríguez is not expected to play either. Fox Sports México, citing TUDN, reports that Alejandro Zendejas could return after missing three matches through injury. The last two meetings, both in May 2026, ended 3–3; in March Pumas won 1–0 at home.

Sunday 8 November

Querétaro v Puebla (18:00 Mexico City time). At the Estadio La Corregidora. Querétaro, 11th on 20 points with a match in hand, lost 3–1 in Juárez and have lost four in a row. Puebla, 14th on 16, lost 2–1 to a 90th-minute Pumas goal and have lost three in a row. Querétaro won the last three meetings, the most recent 2–1 away in April 2026.

León v Guadalajara (20:10 Mexico City time). At the Estadio León. León, seventh on 22 points, lost 2–1 at Cruz Azul. Guadalajara, second on 29, beat Atlante 4–2 with two goals from Santiago Sandoval, have won three in a row and have the best defence, with 14 goals conceded. Guadalajara won 5–0 at home in March 2026; León had won the two meetings before that, 1–0 in July 2025 and 2–1 in January 2025, both at home.

The table before the matchday

The top eight after matchday 17 go straight to the Liguilla, and there is no relegation this season. Monterrey and Querétaro have played 14 matches; they meet on 14 November in Querétaro.

1. América, 29 points (15 matches, +15)
2. Guadalajara, 29 (15, +11)
3. Cruz Azul, 29 (15, +10)
4. Atlas, 27 (15, 0)
5. Toluca, 24 (15, +10)
6. Tijuana, 22 (15, +4)
7. León, 22 (15, +2)
8. Santos Laguna, 22 (15, +1)
9. Monterrey, 21 (14, +5)
10. Pumas, 20 (15, −2)

Behind them come Querétaro (20), Pachuca and Atlético de San Luis (19), Puebla (16), Tigres (15), Atlante (14), Necaxa (10) and Juárez (8).

Numbers to know

• Pachuca's Salomón Rondón has 15 goals, followed by Henry Martín (América) with 10 and Juninho (Pumas) with nine.
• América have scored 36 goals, the most; Guadalajara have conceded 14, the fewest.
• Cruz Azul have won four in a row; Toluca are without a win in seven and Querétaro have lost four in a row.
• From sixth to eighth, Tijuana, León and Santos Laguna have 22 points; Monterrey, ninth, are one behind with a match in hand.

The full table and the kick-off times for the whole matchday are on the Liga MX page.

Sources for the context: Récord, El Universal, Excélsior, Fox Sports México, Fox Sports México, Fox Sports México.