Monterrey vs Necaxa Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

The World Cup isn’t the only trophy on the line this Sunday, with the Supercopa MX also set to be contested at the Stubhub Center in California. Monterrey and Necaxa are the two sides looking to claim victory, but it’s certainly the former of the two that arrives as the big favourite to do so.

This will be the first competitive match for new Monterrey boss Diego Alonso, who has come in following the departure of Antonio Mohamed at the end of last season. Alonso certainly inherits a side in good shape, something illustrated by the fact Los Rayados finished the closing phase of last season in third place, prior to being eliminated by Tijuana in the all important play-offs.

With one of the biggest budgets in Mexican football, Monterrey’s team is packed full of quality and expectations at the club are high, so Alonso cannot really afford to get off to a slow start. Having already seen off Houston Dynamo, Cruz Azul and Santos in friendlies, that’s certainly not something he can be accused of thus far but defeat in this one would quickly put a damper on any early foundations set.

Meanwhile, Necaxa are not an outfit that can call upon such strong financial backing and are far from one of the nation’s big hitters. Nonetheless, having won the closing phase of the Copa MX, they find themselves with the chance to spring an upset and also add the Supercopa to their trophy room.

Necaxa can be dubbed similar to Monterrey, in the sense that they’ll also have a new manager making his competitive bow in this clash, with ex-Zacatepec boss Marcelo Michel Leano having been handed the Rayo reins. Leano has got off to solid start in his new job, picking up friendly wins over Chivas and Detroit City but his new troops will have to be at their very best to have any chance in this one.

Ultimately, it’s hard to look past a Monterrey win and that’s exactly where our money is going. Monterrey finished eight places ahead of Necaxa in the closing phase of last season and that was certainly no fluke; as their squad is by far the stronger of the two on paper.

With the match being played on U.S soil, Monterrey will call upon the larger share of support as the bigger club and having also won 6 of the last 8 meetings between the two, there’s really no reason to believe they won’t win the match. They’ve looked strong and seen off some decent sides in the build-up to the match and we fancy them to see of Necaxa with a 2-1 win.