Preview: Juarez vs Pumas - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking to get their first points on the board, Juarez welcome Pumas to Estadio Olimpico Benito Juarez on Friday night for matchday three of the Liga MX season.

The hosts have suffered back to back 1-0 defeats against Puebla and Guadalajara, while Pumas bounced back from a heavy opening day loss to Pachuca by defeating Toluca 2-1 last time out.

Match preview

After finishing 11th in Liga MX last season, Pedro Caixinha's Juarez narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish and entered the new campaign hoping to take another step forward.

However, Los Bravos have endured a frustrating start, losing each of their opening two matches by a single goal.

Juarez played with a numerical advantage for much of the second half against Puebla on the opening weekend but were unable to make it count, before Roberto Alvarado's 96th-minute winner condemned them to another 1-0 defeat against Guadalajara.

Worryingly for Caixinha, Juarez are the only team in the division yet to score this season.

The Portuguese coach will be hoping his side can rediscover the attacking form they showed during an encouraging unbeaten pre-season, where they recorded two wins, two draws and scored eight goals.

Pumas, meanwhile, lifted the Torneo Clausura title earlier this year before finishing runners up in the end of season phase, although head coach Efrain Juarez departed in June and was replaced by Esteban Solari.

Solari arrived in Mexico boasting an impressive managerial record, but his reign began with a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Pachuca as Elias Montiel and former Premier League striker Salomon Rondon condemned Pumas to a heavy loss.

They responded well last weekend, though, coming from behind to beat Toluca 2-1 thanks to goals from Victor Arteaga and Sebastian Cordova.

Despite collecting all three points, Solari will know there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Pumas managed just eight attempts on goal compared to Toluca's 17, with only three efforts on target, meaning they have produced just four shots on target across their opening two league matches.

The victory lifted the Mexico City club into 12th place, although with only two games played the standings remain largely insignificant.

Juarez welcome their southern opponents still searching for their first points of the campaign, but the head-to-head record against Pumas is firmly against them.

The two clubs have met 22 times previously, with Juarez winning only five, drawing 10 and losing seven.

Juarez Liga MX form:

L L

Pumas Liga MX form:

L W

Team News

Juarez are expected to be without Gilberto Sepulveda after the defender was forced off through injury late in the defeat to Guadalajara.

Ricardo Juarez is the leading candidate to replace him in the back line, while Lucas Romero remains unavailable with a long-term cruciate ligament injury.

Oscar Estupinan finished as Juarez's leading league scorer last season and is expected to retain his place up front despite failing to find the net so far this campaign.

Pumas have no fresh injury concerns following last weekend's victory but Solari could still make changes.

Cordova made an instant impact off the bench by scoring the winner against Toluca and may earn a place in the starting lineup, with Pablo Bennevendo the most likely player to drop out.

Three-time Champions League winner Keylor Navas is also expected to continue in goal as he closes in on his 550th senior career appearance.

Juarez possible starting lineup:

Jurado, Aquino, Juarez, Murillo, Ortega, Mayorga; Ricardinho, Garcia, Castilho, Rodriguez; Estupinan

Pumas possible starting lineup:

Navas; Cordova, Silva, Duarte, Angulo; Lopez, Vite, Arteaga; Antuna, Juninho, Morales

We say: Juarez 1-2 Pumas

Juarez will be desperate to avoid a third straight defeat, but their lack of goals and recent record against Pumas make this another difficult assignment.

The visitors showed encouraging character to come from behind against Toluca, and we expect Solari's side to build on that momentum by edging another closely fought encounter.

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