- Pachuca CF have won three of the last four Liga MX meetings between the sides, including a 3-1 home victory in November 2025, but this is a very even match-up with many recent draws between the two.
- Pachuca and Pumas are both in excellent form with Pachuca winning three of their last five league games (two draws) and scoring nine goals in their three league wins in April.
- Pumas are unbeaten in eight league matches and have won four of their last five, while Pachuca have scored nine goals in their past three Liga MX victories.
Solari’s Pachuca and Juárez’s Pumas lock horns in Liguilla play-off battle
Pachuca CF and Pumas UNAM meet in Liga MX on Saturday in a high-stakes match that could go either way with both teams in hot form.
A home win would send Pachuca above Pumas in the table, while a road victory would see the second-placed UNAM (33 points) consolidate their position and maintain the pressure on league leaders Chivas.
Pumas come into the clash on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run, while Pachuca have won their three consecutive league matches in April, scoring nine times.
The form book and head-to-head stats both point towards a closely contested encounter, but the home ground advantage and the passion of Pachuca’s home support may give Solari’s side a slight advantage.
Solari’s pressing game looks to punish Pumas’ possession-based approach
Esteban Solari’s playing style is proactive, attacking and high-risk with Pachuca pressing hard, making a tempo shift when in possession and using their wide full-backs to get forward.
Solari’s system suits the game of Robert Kenedy, who leads the Pachuca goal charts with eight league strikes, but is also getting plenty of service from Salomón Rondón, Enner Valencia and Santiago Homenchenko.
With the front-line players fit and available, Solari is in a great position to change the system around and keep the opposition guessing, which has been a recipe for Pachuca’s attacking surge in April.
Pachuca’s last two wins were a 3-1 away victory over Monterrey and a 4-2 success at home to Santos Laguna, the latter of which was headed by Víctor Guzmán’s hat-trick.
Pumas play compact, counter-attacking football
Pumas’ talisman is Guillermo Martínez, who has been getting in the right places to grab crucial goals during the UNAM unbeaten run. Martínez’s brace helped Pumas come back from 2-1 down to beat FC Juárez 4-2 last time out and it was a night of celebration for two strikers because Robert Morales also scored twice.
Juárez’s playing system is disciplined and compact, ensuring there is plenty of density in the midfield to counter-attack through and plenty of intensity when the ball is won back.
Uriel Antuna provides the creativity from wide areas for Pumas, while Pedro Vite and Juninho can provide pace and penetration from the centre of the park.
Robert Morales is another lethal predator for Pumas, who scored twice in their win over Juárez, and gets space to attack in the half-spaces on the counter-attack.
Expect both teams to score in Saturday’s clash
Our main selection for this game is the ‘both teams to score - Yes’ market at 1.55 as both coaches like to play positive football and have plenty of attacking talent in their starting line-ups.
Pachuca are the slight favourites at 2.07, although they have been known to have lapses in concentration at the back, while Pumas are a decent price at 3.39 with the draw coming in at 3.5.
The match odds reflect the even nature of this fixture and, although Pachuca have won three of the last four meetings, the smart money is on a draw, which has been a common result between these two.
Our preference is for a close 1-1 score, but a 2-1 Pachuca home win is also likely given how Solari’s men have been playing of late.
