América’s robust opening day record at the Azteca

Club América get their Apertura 2023 campaign up and running on Friday, at home against Juárez. As the stats clearly demonstrate, the Águilas are a force to be reckoned with whenever they play the opening game of the season at the Azteca. Out of the 27 times they have started a new tournament in front of their own fans, they have registered 17 victories.

With that in mind, the forecast doesn’t look too hopeful for the visitors, especially when you look at the goal difference from those previous opening fixtures - a total of 52 goals scored and 27 against. Those figures will feel very reassuring for Brazilian André Soeres Jardine who will oversee his first competitive game in charge when Juárez visit this weekend.

América’s home record of 17 wins on the opening day dates back to the Winter 1996 tournament after which, the short tournament format was implemented.

Frequent opponents

Among the visiting teams that have faced América the most times in the first match of the season are: Querétaro, Atlético San Luis, León and Pachuca - all of whom have started the new season a total of three times at the Azteca.

Monterrey, Puebla, Tigres and Santos have been América’s opening day guests twice in previous years while the remaining fixtures saw Atlas, Necaxa, Jaguares, Dorados, Pumas, Morelia and Toros Neza appear.

Several teams that currently participate in the Liga MX have yet to face the Águilas at the Azteca in the first date of the new season - they include Toluca, Cruz Azul, Chivas, Mazatlán and curiously, Juárez - the next rivals for the start of the Apertura 2023.

So we’ll see if the history of those past results allows América to notch another home victory at the start of this season’s tournament or whether Juárez can buck the trend and inflict what would be just the fifth defeat in 28 opening games played at the Coloso de Santa Úrsula, against its powerful hosts from Coapa.