End of the Regular Phase of Apertura 2017

Only the top eight teams survive to compete for the championship that Chivas left vacant with their early elimination from the tournament.

Arguments in Favor

Rayados, Tigres, América, Morelia, Cruz Azul, Toluca, León, and Atlas all have valid reasons to aspire to be the new monarch of the league, but there are specific points that put some involved teams above others. We mention them below:

DOMICILE SERVICE

América and Morelia are positioned as the best away teams in the regular phase, as they obtained a total of 19 points from the matches played away from home.

América played 10 away matches, winning six, drawing one, and losing three, scoring 14 goals and conceding 11.

On the other hand, Monarcas played nine away matches, winning six, drawing one, and losing two, scoring 14 goals and conceding nine.

The team with the worst away statistics is Toluca, as they only won one out of seven away matches, drew four, and lost two, scoring four goals and conceding nine.

STRONG AT HOME

The team that took best advantage of their home field was Monterrey, as they won eight out of nine home matches, with only one draw, scoring 19 goals and conceding four.

Tigres, on the other hand, had eight home matches, winning seven and drawing one, scoring 17 goals and only conceding three.

Although Morelia was the best away team, they did not perform as well at home, as they won only two out of eight home matches, drew four, and lost two.

THE 'KILLERS' ON THEIR SIDE

The forwards Avilés Hurtado from Rayados and Mauro Boselli from León, respectively, took the top spot in the goal-scoring leaderboard with 11 goals each throughout the 17 matchdays.

Now, in the Quarterfinals, these footballers can be key in determining the matches, so Atlas and Tigres will have to pay special attention to their performance during their respective eliminations.

THE WALLS

The team that best defended their goal in this tournament was Monterrey, who only conceded 12 goals, with four at home and the remaining eight away.

Necaxa had the second-best defense, as they only conceded 15 goals despite not qualifying for the playoffs.

The worst defense of the tournament belonged to Lobos BUAP, who conceded a total of 31 goals in 17 matchdays, with 16 at home.

Among the eight qualifiers, León should be the most concerned in this regard, as they allowed their goal to be breached 23 times, making them vulnerable against the lethal attack of Ferretti's men.

PURE FIREPOWER

In Monterrey, they left nothing for anyone and also had the best offense of the tournament with 29 goals scored, 19 of which were at home.

However, Tigres are right behind with just one goal less than their fierce rival, asserting themselves as the second-best offense of the tournament with 28 goals.

Of the teams invited to the Grand Final, Cruz Azul ranks the lowest in this count, as despite reaching the respectable mark of 22 goals, they must be more effective if they want to beat América, who scored just one more than them.

WATCH OUT FOR CARDS

If none of the eight teams in the Quarterfinals want to lose a key player due to accumulation of yellow cards or a direct red card, they will have to work on the discipline of their squads.

In this regard, the Apertura 2017 tournament registered 668 yellow cards and 60 red cards in its regular phase, where Cruz Azul was the second team with the most cards, accumulating 46 yellow cards throughout the 17 matchdays.

América and Toluca will have to improve in terms of red cards, as with five each, they were the second-most undisciplined teams in the regular phase.

Necaxa stands out with the best statistics, as they only received