Santos Laguna and Juárez Fight for Pride in Liga MX Basement Battle

Some matches are played for three points, and some are played for pride. This is the latter. Estadio Corona hosts a clash between Santos Laguna (17th) and Juárez (18th), the only two teams that have yet to climb out of the bottom of the table in Liga MX, separated by just one point in the standings.

Santos Laguna's record this tournament stands at 7 matches played, 0 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses, with 4 goals scored and 12 allowed. Over their last five matches they've picked up one win, one draw and three losses, a run that at least offers a sliver of hope compared to what their opponent brings into this one. Juárez, for their part, have yet to taste victory this tournament: 7 matches played, 0 wins, 0 draws and 7 losses, with just 3 goals scored and 21 allowed. Their last five matches have all ended in defeat.

It's worth separating those numbers from a different sample: according to 2026 season trends in Liga MX, Santos Laguna at home have averaged 0 goals scored and 0.68 allowed per match across three games, with a 33% clean sheet rate, and tend to score, when they do, within the first 15 minutes. Juárez, in that same sample but on the road, average 0.33 goals scored and 3.66 allowed across three matches, without a single clean sheet, and their most dangerous attacking window falls between minutes 31 and 45. These are contextual figures rather than tournament stats, but they paint a similar picture: both teams are struggling, and Juárez is struggling more.

The head-to-head history doesn't favor the home side either: in 8 previous meetings, Juárez won 5, Santos Laguna won 2 and there was 1 draw, with 12 goals for Santos against 13 for Juárez. An even record on the overall scoreline, but with the visitors holding the edge in wins.

Probable Lineups

For Santos Laguna, the projected lineup (medium reliability) would have Carlos Acevedo in goal, a back four of Mauricio Cuevas, Felipe Sánchez, Efraín Orona and Franco Pardo, a midfield of Aldo López, Diego González, Fran Villalba and Salvador Mariscal, and up top Ezequiel Bullaude alongside Eduardo Aguirre, both among the team's top scorers at home this season.

Juárez, also with medium reliability in their projected starting eleven, would go with Sebastián Jurado between the posts, Jesús Murillo, Javier Aquino, Gilberto Sepúlveda and Francisco Nevárez on defense, José Luis Rodríguez, Denzell García, Jairo Torres, Rodrigo Dourado and Madson in midfield, and Óscar Estupiñán as the focal point up front, the team's leading scorer on the road this season.

What the Odds Say

Our model produces a very tight forecast, with a slight lean toward the visitors:

With 35% for Santos Laguna, 38% for Juárez and 27% for a draw, there's no clear favorite: this is our model's own estimate, not a betting line, and it confirms what the table numbers already suggest. The expected goals, 1.49 for the home side and 1.58 for the visitors, with a combined total of 3.07, point to a match with scoring chances for both sides, though the both-teams-to-score trend sits at just 0% and the over 2.5 goals trend at 33%, a sign that the model isn't banking on an offensive showcase.

With Club América leading the table on 16 points and this pair of teams anchoring the bottom with 1 and 0 points respectively, what's really at stake at Estadio Corona is, above all, who stops being last.