Liga MX playoff field set with superlider Pumas meeting Club America in first round

The Liguilla field is set after Cruz Azul beat Necaxa, 4-1, on Sunday, April 26 to secure the No. 3 seed in Liga MX's playoffs. The Mexico City club returned to the Estadio Azteca for the first time this season in a match that also marked the debut of Joel Huiqui as interim manager after Nicolas Larcamon was fired just days before the start of the postseason.

A loss would've seen La Maquina slip into an intimidating series with reigning champion Toluca, but the victory Sunday set up a series with Atlas, seen as an easier matchup and a team Cruz Azul beat 2-0 in the regular season. The other two top-division clubs in Mexico City will square off in the quarterfinals. Pumas closed out a one-loss regular season with a 2-0 win at Pachuca to secure the top slot, while Club América slipped to an uncharacteristic sixth loss of the 17-game campaign.

That sets up a showdown between the two grandes, the label placed on the four clubs in Mexico with the most historic success and biggest fan bases. Will Mexico national team players play in the Liguilla? This will be a quirky edition of the Liga MX playoffs, with Mexico national team players set to be released from their clubs for a training camp that begins May 6 and will lead into the World Cup — taking place in Mexico as well as in the United States and Canada.

That means most players called up will miss the entire Liguilla, though a few clubs might try to keep their players through the first legs of the quarterfinals, which will take place May 2 and May 3. Aguirre is expected to announce his list of domestic-based players Monday, April 27. Chivas de Guadalajara, a club which fields only Mexican players, is expecting to be the team hit hardest by the absences with at least five players likely included on the list to join El Tri.