The Liga MX Clausura final begins on Thursday with the first leg as Tigres UANL hosts Leon. The top two teams in the regular season do battle after squeezing by in the semifinal round. Neither team outscored their semifinal opponent but benefited from the unusual tiebreaker Liga MX uses. America and Leon finished 1-1 on aggregate, but Los Verdiblancos went through because they finished higher than America in the regular season table. Leon finished first and America finished fifth. Meanwhile, Tigres and rival Monterrey also played out a 1-1 draw after two legs. Tigres advanced to the final after having finished in second, one spot ahead of Monterrey in the table. 

Here's what you need to know about the opening leg.

Liga MX final: Tigres vs. Leon

  • Date: Thursday, May 23
  • Time: 9:45 p.m. ET
  • Location: Estadio Universitario 
  • TV channel: Univision
  • Streaming: fuboTV (Try for free) 
  • Odds: N/A

Storylines

Tigres: Seeking their seventh title, Tigres just lost the final of the CONCACAF Champions League to rival Monterrey. They don't want to come away empty-handed again. This is one of the most talented teams in the league, especially in the final third. Expect them to play fast, look to control the tempo and create chances from building out of the back. 

Leon: The team finished in first place in the league with an impressive record of 13-2-2. Leon scored eight more goals than any other team in the league, while conceding just 14 times in 17 games. A surprise finalist considering expectations at the start of the season, the key has been Angel Mena. The Ecuadorian joined the team this season and has delivered 15 goals in 24 games. 

Tigres vs. Leon prediction

Tigres gets the slight advantage at home in the first leg and enters the second leg as the favorite. 

Pick: Tigres 

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