If there is a duel that has historically provided important moments in the Liga MX short tournaments era, it is undoubtedly Chivas vs Pachuca. This match is extremely important for both teams in the Apertura 2024, as each will be playing for their destiny in the second half of the semester.
It is in matches like these where we go back to the statistics in search of something that will help us predict a score, and that is what we will do here. It has to be said that, in this particular case, the balance could not be more even: of the 57 previous occasions on which they have met, each side has won on 20 occasions, for 17 draws. In other words, each side has won 77 of the 171 points they have disputed.
As could not be otherwise, the first meeting in the era of short tournaments was between the Red-and-Whites, when in Winter 1996, Guadalajara went into the Hidalgo Stadium with a 2-0 win. On that October midday, it was the 'Emperor' Claudio Suárez and Gabriel García who gave Guadalajara the three points.
To find the most comfortable score in the rivalry, you don't have to go that far back in history, as it came in CL09 with that team from Guadalajara, led by Efraín Flores, which thrashed Pachuca 5-0 at Jalisco Stadium, with goals from Aarón Galindo, Gonzalo Pineda, Héctor Reynoso and Omar Arellano on two occasions.
The best streak the Rebaño Sagrado has had in that period was 6 matches without defeat, with 3 wins and 3 draws, from the Clausura 2009 to the Apertura 2011. In fact, that record began with the Red-and-White team's biggest defeat of the Bella Airosa, that 5-0 win at the Jalisco Stadium on Matchday 8 of CL09.
Finally, the scoring record also leans towards Guadalajara, who scored 79 times in 57 editions of the rivalry, compared to 73 for the Tuzo team.