Leon will invite Cruz Azul to the Estadio León in the first leg of the Liga MX Clausura 2025 quarterfinals on Thursday. Both teams secured direct berths in the quarterfinals after a top-six finish in the regular season standings.
The hosts have endured a poor run of form, winning just one of their last seven league games. They concluded their regular season campaign with two consecutive losses, including a 2-0 home loss to Monterrey last month.
La Máquina, meanwhile, have enjoyed a 16-game unbeaten streak across all competitions. They met Toluca in their last regular-season Liga MX game last month and were held to a 2-2 draw. They hosted Tigres UANL in the semifinal of the CONCACAF Champions Cup last week, and Ángel Sepúlveda's penalty helped them record a 2-1 win on aggregate and book their place in the final.
La Fiera failed to score for the first time in 2025 in their loss against Monterrey last month and will look to return to goalscoring ways here. They have suffered just three losses in their last 18 home Liga MX games, with one of them registered against the capital club in September.
La Máquina suffered a narrow loss in the Clausura final last season and will look to go all the way this season. They have drawn their last four away games, keeping two clean sheets. They have kept clean sheets in three of their last five Liga MX away games.
The capital club have won four of their last five away meetings against Leon, and considering the current form of the two teams, we back the visitors to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Leon 1-2 Cruz Azul
Tip 1: Result - Cruz Azul to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
Tip 4: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes