Pandora Hughes
Atlas caused a major surprise in the first half of the Liga MX season, but Tigres have strengthened over the winter and could be the pick for Clausura glory.
Who do Bettors Favor?
With the season ongoing and only 17 games per team, football bettors are advised to check the best online sportsbooks for the latest odds as these can change quickly. Apertura winners Atlas are still in contention and have plenty of support, along with current league leaders Puebla and two of the league’s big guns, Tigres-UANL and Cruz Azul.
| To win Liga MX Clausura |  |  |  |
| Tigres | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| UNAM | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| CruzAzul | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Atlas | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Leon | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Monterrey | n/a | n/a | n/a |
A Quick Guide to Liga MX
Liga MX is one of the world’s top domestic leagues and stands out for its unusual format. The season is divided into two campaigns: summer and winter, known as Apertura and Clausura. Each season concludes with a knock-out stage leading to a winner. A standard season, therefore, produces two champions, though qualification for the regional club competitions is based on an aggregate table.
Clausura Winner Betting
An unusual feature of the winter transfer market was the lack of big-money moves from Mexico to Europe. Instead, there was more business than usual between domestic sides and some sides benefitted more than others, most notably Tigres and Cruz Azul.
Cruz Azul added Uriel Antuna, Carlos Rodriguez and Erik Lira, but those signings were offset by the ongoing departures from the club, including Roberto Alvarado and Luis Romo, and that could hamper their chances of repeating their famous 2021 Clasura success.
By contrast, Tigres look to be well placed having overhauled their squad. Knocked out in the semi-finals of the Apertura, Tigres added Jesus Angulo and Sebastian Cordova to an already impressive-looking squad and after a slow start, have moved ominously into fourth place in the table after six games. They won’t be available at a huge price, but their odds are likely to shrink further over the next few weeks so now could be the best time to pick them.
Atlas landed a major surprise in winning the Apertura to end a 70-year drought, and are benefitting from coach Diego Cocca being given time to build a winning mentality. Their solid 5-3-2 set-up has enabled them to be consistent where others have faltered and they are unbeaten in Clausura so far, although they have drawn three out of six, and they could also be a good wager as they will be underestimated by many yet have proven their ability to navigate the knock-out rounds.
Betting on the Bottom Team
Relegation has been frozen in Liga MX again this season, which is good news for the teams at the foot of the table, but they will still face a penalty. The bottom three sides at the end of the season will face fines ranging from $MXN80 million to $MXN 33 million. There is a further complication in that the bottom three places are determined not by an aggregated league table across the two 2021-22 tournaments, but through a coefficient table covering the last three complete seasons and based around the principle of a points per game ratio, so getting involved in this market means keeping up with the coefficients.
Going into the Clausura, Necaxa, Tijuana and Juarez appeared to be the three teams most at risk of landing a fine, but Juarez and Necaxa have both made reasonable starts to the tournament and that has meant that a run of five defeats has sucked Atletico San Luis into the bottom three.
Necaxa’s revival is not that surprising, given their shrewd acquisitions at the end of the Apertura, with Nico Castillo and Dieter Villalpando boosting their squad and they have pulled out of the bottom three on the coefficient table, so it is hard to see them dropping back into the danger zone.
Juarez are still third from bottom but are making progress and are not that far behind Necaxa, with realistic hopes that Mazatlan and perhaps Queretaro might get sucked into the battle.
That leaves Tijuana and Atletico as the main contenders to finish bottom of the lot on the coefficient table. Tijuana look certain to be facing a fine of some sort and they have missed golden opportunities to beat Necaxa and Mazatlan but Atletico’s form has been poorer and they have much more ground to make up, so they seem the most likely candidate to be earning the maximum fine for finishing last.
Liga MX Top Scorer Markets
The Clausura top scorer markets are at an early stage, so there are plenty of players in contention. Nicolas Ibanez of Puebla is leading the way, but his team may not be able to keep up their current momentum so it could be worth looking at a couple of alternatives.
Victor Davila of Leon is a reliable scorer and contender in this market who has already found the net three times and Rogerio, on loan at UNAM has made a good impression since arriving in Liga MX, so both are solid picks.
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