Leon vs Cruz Azul prediction, preview, team news and more

Apertura champions Leon and Clausura champions Cruz Azul square off at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles for the annual Campeon de Campeones fixture on Sunday.

Winners of the summer and winter tournaments of Liga MX clash in the game, which translates to Champion of Champions, every year before the Apertura tournament kicks off in July.

Cruz Azul won the Clausura 2021, which was their first trophy in 23 years, to book a date with Leon, who won their first league title since 2014.

Liga MX action returns next week, so this clash of the champions will be a good way for both teams to test their preparedness for the upcoming campaign.

Es bellísimo...🤩El domingo, el capitán de @clubleonfc o @CruzAzul alzará el Trofeo 🏆de #CampeónDeCampeones¿Quién se quedará con él?¿Esmeraldas 🟢o Celestes 🔵? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/eONJT88QOx
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) July 16, 2021

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Leon vs Cruz Azul Head-to-Head

The two clubs have met each other 26 times across all competitions since 2012. In these meetings, Cruz Azul have the upper hand at the moment. They are also on a three-game winning streak against their northern rivals.

Cruz Azul have 11 wins to their name while Leon have managed to bet the better of the capital club six times so far. The spoils have been shared nine times between the two sides.

They have also squared off once in the Campeon de Campeones, with Leon defeating Azul 3-2 on penalties in the 1972 edition of the showdown.

They last met in a Clausura fixture in February at the Estadio León. Cruz Azul secured a 1-0 win thanks to a late goal from Brayan Angulo Tenorio.

Leon form guide (Pre-season): W-L-L

Cruz Azul form guide (Pre-season): W-W-D

Leon vs Cruz Azul Team News

Leon

Currently, there are no injury concerns for La Fiera. Rodolfo Cota and Osvaldo Rodriguez have been called up for the CONCACAF Gold Cup by Mexico and remain unavailable.

Santiago Colombatto has been selected to represent Argentina at the Olympics and will also not feature in this game.

D Á N D O L E 👊🏽Entrenamiento en Carson, California.Faltan 2 días para disputar el trofeo #CampeónDeCampeones 🏆. pic.twitter.com/8KkEgoB2qS
— Club León 🇲🇽 (@clubleonfc) July 17, 2021

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Injured: None

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

Unavailable (International duty): Rodolfo Cota, Osvaldo Rodriguez, Santiago Colombatto

Cruz Azul

Adrián Aldrete suffered a broken ankle last month and is the only injury concern for La Máquina. Luis Romo, Roberto Alvarado and Sebastián Jurado have been called up by Mexico for the Tokyo Olympics while Orbelín Pineda is currently on international duty with El Tri at the Gold Cup.

Yoshimar Yotún and Jonathan Rodríguez might not be able to feature here due to COVID-19 related protocols. Goalkeeper Jesús Corona is suspended but on account of more than three players on international duty, could be included in the squad.

¡EN PROBLEMAS! 👉 https://t.co/LbJCQj9gbKCruz Azul trabaja a contrarreloj para tener disponibles a Jonathan Rodríguez y Yoshimar Yotún en el Campeón de Campeones, pero las noticias no son buenas... 😧🤦‍♂️👉 https://t.co/LbJCQj9gbK pic.twitter.com/0L1OjgQpeH
— Vamos Azul (@VamosCAzul) July 13, 2021

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Injured: Adrián Aldrete

Doubtful: Yoshimar Yotún, Jonathan Rodríguez

Suspended: None

Unavailable (International duty): Luis Romo, Roberto Alvarado, Sebastián Jurado, Orbelín Pineda

Leon vs Cruz Azul Predicted XI

Leon Predicted XI (4-3-3): Iván Vázquez Mellado; Jose Ramirez, Stiven Barreiro, William Tesillo, Andrés Mosquera; Fidel Ambríz, Fernando Navarro, Angel Mena; Luis Montes, Jean Meneses, Victor Davila.

Cruz Azul Predicted XI (4-4-2): Jose de Jesus Corona; Juan Escobar, Juilo Cesar Dominguez, Pablo Aguila, José Joaquín Martínez; Guillermo Fernandez, Rafael Baca, Ignacio Rivero, Alexis Gutierrez; Walter Montoya, Santiago Gimenez