Preview: Puebla vs. CD Guadalajara - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to move on from last week's defeat to Cruz Azul, Puebla welcome CD Guadalajara to Estadio Cuauhtemoc on Friday night looking to secure maximum points in their first home match of the Liga MX season.

Both sides have had mixed starts to the embryonic Apertura campaign, claiming three points from an available six, and they sit just outside the coveted top eight spots heading into the third gameweek.

Match preview

Despite playing the final half-hour of their first Apertura match of the season with 10 men, Gerardo Espinoza's men held on to beat Juarez 1-0 to start the season commendably.

Those battling qualities were unable to see them through last time out despite Fernando Monarrez's 28th-minute goal to put La Franja 1-0 up at Cruz Azul.

This time, the Sweet Potatoers were undone by conceding twice at the end of each half, letting in the equaliser in the 44th minute and falling to Osinachi Ebere's 82nd-minute strike.

Unable to respond in the final minutes, Espinoza's men enter the third gameweek of the Apertura on three points from two rounds, level with this weekend's visiting side.

While supporters will hope for a return to winning ways, recent history does little to encourage that aspiration.

Indeed, Chivas have had the better of their hosts in the last three meetings since a 1-0 defeat in October 2024.

The subsequent matches have ended 1-0, 2-0 and 5-0 to Guadalajara, highlighting the chasm in quality that Gabriel Milito will look to maintain this weekend, as Rojiblancos attempt to claim four consecutive victories in this fixture.

The former centre-back is 12 months into the role, having coincidentally taken over in May 2025 after Espinoza left the previous month, guiding the club to a sixth-placed finish in the Apertura 2025 and second in the Clausura en route to a semi-final berth in the latter's final phase following the regular season.

Maintaining those coveted positions is the bare minimum for Milito and his side, but their Apertura campaign got off to a slow start when they fell to a 2-0 home defeat to Toluca.

Not helped by Angel Sepulveda's sending-off early into the second half, Chivas, already 1-0 down at the time, then let in another with 15 minutes of normal time remaining.

However, Chivas Rayadas responded with a dominant performance that was not reflected in their 1-0 last-gasp victory, highlighted by Roberto Alvarado's 96th-minute winner.

It was no less than Chivas deserved in a match which saw them accrue 22 shots to Juarez's six, fashioning four opportunities deemed clear-cut, and the Guadalajara outfit aim to pick up where they left off to continue their ongoing impressive run against this weekend's home side.

Puebla Liga MX form:

CD Guadalajara Liga MX form:

Team News

Having served his suspension for preventing a goalscoring opportunity against Juarez in gameweek one, Iker Moreno could return to the Puebla team for this weekend's match.

New signing Alberto Herrera has already assisted in gameweeks one and two, and the former Mazatlan midfielder seeks to have another positive response for Los Camoteros at Chivas' expense.

While Sepulveda avoided more than a one-match suspension following his red card for violent conduct in matchday one, several sources suggest that the forward's status is questionable for the weekend due to an ankle injury.

As such, Alvarado could be partnered up top again by Armando Gonzalez, with the former scoring the game's only goal against Juarez in gameweek two.

After failing to tuck away promising goalscoring chances last time out, Bryan Gonzalez will look to make the right impact from left wing-back against Puebla.

Puebla possible starting lineup:

Gutierrez; Leyva, Almada, Vargas, Monarrez; Sanabria, Herrera; Velasco, Organista, Gomez; Hernandez

CD Guadalajara possible starting lineup:

Rangel; Romo, Castillo, Aguirre; F. Gonzalez; Ledezma, Gutierrez, Carrillo, B. Gonzalez; Alvarado, A. Gonzalez

We say: Puebla 0-2 CD Guadalajara

The hosts have struggled immensely in this fixture over the past year, suffering three straight defeats without finding the back of the net a single time.

With Herrera providing a spark for Los Camoteros, they will undoubtedly pose a threat, but Chivas boast superior quality across the pitch and should ultimately cruise to a comfortable away victory.

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