The Clásico Nacional between América and Chivas comes as both teams sit near the top of the 2026 Apertura standings, separated by just one point, though their recent form has been very different.
Guadalajara sits in first place with 17 points after defeating Pumas 3-0, while América has 16 points following its first loss of the tournament to Cruz Azul in a match that ended 4-3.
Overall, both teams have nearly identical statistics: 15 goals scored, six conceded, and a goal differential of plus-nine. The difference is that Chivas reached those numbers after eight matchdays, while América achieved them in seven games, as it still has its match against Tijuana pending.
Chivas is on a winning streak
The team coached by Gabriel Milito is on a roll. After starting the season with a 2-0 loss to Toluca, Chivas has not lost another Liga MX match.
El Rebaño secured victories against FC Juárez, Santos, Tijuana, Atlético de San Luis, and Pumas, in addition to drawing against Puebla and Pachuca. During that stretch, they earned 17 of the last 21 points and climbed to the top of the standings.
Their two most recent matches ended with identical scores. First, they defeated Atlético de San Luis 3-0, and then they repeated that result against Pumas.
Against the university team, Santiago Sandoval scored twice, and Bryan González rounded out the rout on his return after missing four games due to injury. In addition, Raúl Rangel stepped up when called upon, and Chivas recorded another shutout.
After conceding six goals in their first six matchdays, Guadalajara has now gone 180 minutes without allowing a goal.
América’s Unbeaten Streak Ends
The Águilas got off to a strong start in the 2026 Apertura, with five wins and one draw in their first six matches. During that stretch, they had conceded only two goals and entered the match against Cruz Azul as league leaders. However, La Máquina put an end to that unbeaten streak.
Erik Lira, José Paradela, and Jesús Orozco Chiquete put Cruz Azul up 3-0 before halftime. Brian Rodríguez cut the deficit early in the second half, though Gabriel Fernández extended the lead again to make it 4-1.
América rallied in the final minutes thanks to goals by Óscar Perea and Miguel Borja, but they were unable to complete the comeback. The four goals conceded against Cruz Azul were double the number of goals they had allowed during their first six matchdays.
In addition, the Águilas have now gone three games without a win across the Leagues Cup and Liga MX, after being eliminated by Rayados on penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw in the semifinals and subsequently losing 1-0 to León in the third-place match.
Six New Signings for the Águilas
América began the tournament without any new signings but closed out the transfer window with six new players joining Guillermo Almada’s squad. Óscar Perea, Edwin Cerrillo, Miguel Borja, Carlos Álvarez, Santiago Ramos Mingo, and Santiago Bueno joined the team.
Perea began seeing playing time starting in Matchday 4 against Atlético de San Luis and has already scored his first goal in Liga MX. Borja, for his part, made his first-team debut against Cruz Azul and scored América’s third goal in the final minutes.
Almada’s team will head into the Clásico with more options than in the early rounds, although some of its new signings have had little time to train with the rest of the squad.
Chivas Found Their Scoring Touch After González’s Departure
Guadalajara also suffered a significant loss ahead of the Clásico. Armando González, the team’s leading scorer last season, left the club to continue his career with Olympiacos.
“La Hormiga” had scored 12 goals in the 2025 Apertura and another 12 during the 2026 Clausura, in addition to playing a key role in recent matchups against América.
However, Chivas has managed to distribute its offensive output among different players. Roberto Alvarado and Ricardo Marín have each scored four goals in the 2026 Apertura, while Santiago Sandoval has three after his two-goal performance against Pumas. Guadalajara has scored 15 goals in the tournament despite González’s departure.
Recent history favors Chivas
The last two Liga MX Clásicos Nacionales ended in victories for Guadalajara. In the 2025 Apertura, Chivas won 2-1 on the road with goals from Roberto Alvarado and Armando González. Alejandro Zendejas pulled one back for América in stoppage time.
Five months later, the Rebaño prevailed again, this time 1-0 at the Akron during Matchday 6 of the 2026 Clausura. Armando González scored the only goal of the match. Gabriel Milito managed both matches and secured both victories against América.
Now the scenario has changed. Milito will have to seek a third consecutive victory in the Clásico without González, while Guillermo Almada will take the field for the first time in the most important matchup of the América-Chivas rivalry. And he’ll do so just one week after suffering his first loss in the Clásico Joven.
