The Liga Mx soccer Apertura season wraps up in October this year due to the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, which begins on November 20.

Guadalajara’s two teams, Chivas and Atlas, enjoyed mixed fortunes in the regular season. Atlas couldn’t repeat their heroics of the past two seasons, when they won back-to-back championships, ending a 70-year wait for a title. The team were a shadow of themselves in the previous two seasons, with just two wins in 17 games, finishing next to bottom in the 18-team league.  Dual title winning coach Diego Cocca departed at the end of the season, and was given an emotional send-off by grateful Altas fans at their final home game.

Chivas fared better, finishing 9th and qualifying for a one-off “wild card game on the road at Puebla, scheduled Sunday, October 9, 4:30 p.m.  Victory would move Mexico’s best supported team into the quarter finals, although pundits give Chivas scant hope of lifting the championship this year, with many more accomplished teams, such as Monterrey and America, favorites to lift the crown.