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

The final fixture on Tuesday in the Liga MX Apertura will see Toluca welcome Pumas to La Bombonera for matchday two action.

To open the new season, Diablos Rojos blanked Chivas 2-0, while Pumas lost their opener at home to Pachuca 3-0, on Saturday.

Match preview

It was a strong start to the new campaign for Toluca, who capitalised on their opponents’ mistakes to begin on a winning note.

Antonio Mohamed will hope to get this team back to the top of Liga MX, having won the Apertura and Clausura in 2025, but falling to Pachuca in the 2026 edition of the Clausura playoffs.

Toluca have gone on to win their last two home matches across all competitions, lifting the CONCACAF Champions Cup trophy in May on penalties versus Tigres.

On Tuesday, they have a chance to stretch their unbeaten run in the Apertura to 13 matches, with their last defeat in this phase of Liga MX occurring at Cruz Azul in August of last year (1-0).

They have points in seven straight Apertura affairs on home soil, emerging victorious in five of those instances.

Meanwhile, Toluca have points in six consecutive meetings with Pumas, all of which took place domestically, including a 3-2 win away to them in March of this year.

The debut match of the new Apertura season was nearly a carbon copy for Pumas as the last one, as they were beaten 3-0 to begin this campaign for a second successive occasion.

That said, their defeat on matchday one ended a two-game unbeaten run for them in the Apertura, not counting last year’s playoffs.

On Tuesday, they will seek to avoid losing their first two matches in the Apertura for a second year in a row, with Santos Laguna beating them in their opening Apertura away fixture in 2025, 3-0.

Esteban Solari will be seeking his first victory as the Pumas manager on Tuesday, with the Argentine being appointed as the new boss earlier this year.

This team can extend their unbeaten run away from home in the Apertura to four matches on Tuesday, not counting the playoffs, having beaten Cruz Azul 3-2 last November.

While they have not won their last four visits to Toluca, Universitarios have collected a point in three of those visits.

Toluca Liga MX form:

Pumas Liga MX form:

Team News

Due to a cruciate ligament tear, Toluca will be missing Marcel Ruiz for this match as he remains on the road to recovery, while Paulinho aims to get his name on the scoresheet.

Alexis Vega and Jesus Gallardo found the back of the net for them on matchday one, while Luis Garcia made three stops to collect the clean sheet.

As for Pumas, Adalberto Carrasquilla is doubtful due to an adductor injury, and Jose Juan Macias will not feature because of a ligament tear.

Juninho is seeking his first goal of the new campaign, while Santiago Lopez, on loan from Canadian side Atletico Ottawa, is aiming to earn his first Liga MX cap.

Toluca possible starting lineup:

Garcia; Simon, Lopez, Mendez, Gallardo; Romero, Guzman; Vega, Angulo, Gutierrez; Helinho

Pumas possible starting lineup:

Navas; Arriola, Nathan, Duarte, Calderon; Lopez, Arteaga, Cordova, Vite; Morales, Juninho