Preview: Club Tijuana vs Tigres - prediction, team news, lineups

The Liga MX returns this week and Club Tijuana are set to welcome Tigres UANL to Estadio Caliente in their Torneo Apertura opener.

Tijuana finished seventh in the Apertura league phase last season and were then beaten in the quarter-finals by Tigres, who finished second in the league and lost in the final.

Match preview

Tijuana have won the Liga MX Apertura once in their 19-year history, back in 2012, and the club will be keen to challenge at the top of the table this season.

Last season, Tijuana picked up six wins, six draws and five defeats in the league phase and reached the quarter-finals by beating Juarez 3-1 in a play-in game.

However, they lost 5-3 on aggregate to Tigres in that tie to fall out of contention and will be looking for revenge on Friday.

It is also worth noting that Tijuana did beat Tigres 1-0 when they met in Torneo Clausura in April, with Kevin Castaneda scoring the winning goal.

Head coach Sebastian Abreu was appointed in July 2025 and has a decent record, with 14 wins, 14 draws and 12 defeats in his 40 games in charge across all competitions so far.

Tigres, meanwhile, have won eight league titles in their history, which includes three consecutive Apertura victories between 2015 and 2017.

Last season, they picked up 10 wins, six draws and one defeat in the league phase, before losing on penalties to Toluca in the final.

Tigres will be looking to bounce back from that disappointment this season and will be buoyed by the fact they have beaten Tijuana four times in their last six meetings.

Head coach Guido Pizarro has been in charge since March 2025 and has picked up 33 wins, 21 draws and 18 defeats in his 72 matches across all competitions.

Team News

Tijuana are expected to be without defender Jackson Porozo and Gilberto Mora following their involvement at the 2026 World Cup, while last season's top scorer Castaneda has departed for Chivas.

Diego Abreu is set to lead the line, with Adonis Peciado and new signing Yael Padilla likely to start out wide.

Tigres, meanwhile, are set to be without the likes of Jesus Angulo and Marcelo Flores through injury.

Angel Correa is expected to start up front, while Diego Lainez and Ozziel Herrera will feature out wide.

Club Tijuana possible starting lineup:

Rodriguez; Arciga, Diaz, Gomez, Bilbao; Rivero, Tona, Perez; Padilla, Abreu, Preciado

Tigres possible starting lineup:

Guzman; Lorona, Romulo, Joaquim, Garza; Gorriaran, Araujo; Lainez, Correa, Herrera; Aguirre

We say: Club Tijuana 1-2 Tigres

Tijuana will be hurt by the expected absences of Mora and Porozo as well as Castaneda's departure and we are backing Tigres to pick up all three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.