- History: Monterrey are the dominant side in this fixture, winning all of the last five head-to-head meetings in Liga MX by an aggregate score of 12-2.
- Santos form: Santos Laguna have won only one and drawn one of their last five games.
- Monterrey form: Monterrey have often conceded multiple goals in their last five league games.
Monterrey must play the percentages to win
Monterrey, currently mid-table in the Liga MX Clausura 2026 on 18 points from 16 games, are just outside the top eight automatic Liguilla spots and need a win on Sunday to have any chance of sneaking into the playoff. Rayados, who will almost certainly need to win this game to have a chance of Liguilla qualification, will be obliged to play their own game as they do not have enough of a cushion to take risks on the road.
Santos, languishing at the bottom of the Clausura table on 9-10 points from 15-16 matches, are going nowhere fast and will be playing for pride and the dignity of a good performance in their season-ending game. On paper, this could be an interesting fixture because both teams have very different approaches to how to play the game.
Tapia’s men try to frustrate Monterrey
They are possession-based and need their forward-thinking players to be on the ball as much as possible so that their frontman Uroš Đurđević has chances to score. They will set up to control the game and try to make Santos press too hard and get exposed by the counterattack.
That is what acting coach Nico Sánchez has done in recent games since taking over after Domènec Torrent’s departure, but his team have conceded more than once recently and that is a constant theme in their results. Sánchez's side then set up in a pragmatic way to beat Puebla 2-1 on the following matchday.
Santos coach Omar Tapia will have his men set up to pressure Monterrey in a way that they can only succeed if Ezequiel Bullaude, their top scorer and best attacking talent, can be as effective as Đurđević on the other side.
Hot and windy in Torreón
Attacking options
Brian Rodríguez and Lucas Di Yorio can add a little spark, but Santos do not have the same attacking prowess or guile as their opponents, who have some good depth in the wide areas with players like Orellano, Torres and Ocampos to support Đurđević.
- Santos’ style of play is high-tempo and vertical while Monterrey are a passing team that should always have the ball and dictate the pace of the match.
- However, the wind can be strong in Torreón and the heat may slow the tempo in the second half, so this could be a stop-start game with both teams changing their tactics frequently.
- Monterrey have dominated this fixture in all competitions over the past few years, winning all of the previous five head-to-head games against Santos and will not be happy if they don’t win at 1.81.
Odds and predictions
Tapia has done a decent job of getting a work rate and defensive discipline into the team since taking over in February 2026, but the team are in the middle of a rebuild and Santos come in at 3.76.
The Draw is priced at 3.92, but Rayados’ recent record in the fixture and their current position in the league suggests they should get over the line here by a goal. The Over 2.5 goals market at 1.44 looks too low considering Monterrey’s scoring record and their tendency to concede too many goals.
