Game: Tijuana Xolos vs Chivas de Guadalajara

Where: Estadio Caliente, Tijuana, Mexico

When: Friday, January 26, 2024

Time: 7:00 p.m. PST

TV: VIX

The Tijuana Xolos come back home for their Week 3 Liga MX 2024 Clausura matchup against Chivas this Friday, January 26.

The Border City Dogs are coming off a scoreless draw against Atlas away from home; considering Club Tijuana’s road record, this result is a positive one.

However, the Aztec Canines did not display great football on the pitch, as goalkeeper Jose de Jesus Corona was key to maintaining the result. Antonio Rodriguez did not start the match for precautionary reasons but should be back in net for Club Tijuana against Guadalajara.

The Border City team’s defense has not been bad, but the offense is a subject of concern, with no goals scored in 180 minutes of play to start the new campaign. Carlos Gonzalez has been close to scoring on a few occasions, but the Paraguayan striker has not received much support in the opening two games.

Manager Miguel Herrera has not switched up his lineup much and is yet to utilize new signings Joe Corona and Raul Zuniga much, with Corona not playing a single minute just yet. It will be interesting to see how Herrera lines up his team against a Chivas team that is very offensive and aggressive going forward.

Chivas is going through a transitional phase with new manager Fernando Gago, who has a very distinct playing style. However, Guadalajara has had issues with finishing, only scoring one goal in their opening two games of the 2024 Clausura season.

All eyes are on Los Tapatios after they announced the signing of Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who will not make the trip to Tijuana, as he will be officially presented at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara on Saturday. The new Chivas signing that will make the trip over is former San Jose Earthquakes player Cade Cowell, who played his first Liga MX game in Week 2 of the Clausura 2024 against Tigres. Cowell has a tremendous physical presence and immense pace that can potentially make any Liga MX backline struggle.

Chivas has a well-balanced team with a solid backline, an exciting midfield, and an attack that has plenty of potential. Club Tijuana is likely to start with a conservative approach, given Gago’s playing style, and will look to capitalize on unforced errors.

The atmosphere at the Estadio Caliente will be a spectacle with a guarantee of over 30 thousand fans, several coming locally and from neighboring states in both Mexico and the U.S. Club Tijuana is likely to play as a visitor in its own stadium, but this is still one of the tougher places to visit for most Liga MX teams, and Xolos need to capitalize on that.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.