Who has qualified for Clausura 2023 playoffs preliminary round?

With the final matchday of the Clausura 2023 regular season now over, the line-up for the playoffs’ preliminary round has been confirmed.

The eight teams involved in the prelims will battle it out in four single-elimination ties for the right to join automatic qualifiers Monterrey, Club América, Chivas Guadalajara and Toluca in the playoffs proper.

Pachuca, León, Tigres, Cruz Azul, Atlas, Puebla, Atlético San Luis and Santos Laguna are the clubs that will each seek to win one of the four remaining places in the postseason quarter-finals.

Querétaro blocked from Clausura 2023 postseason

After finishing 10th in the regular-season standings, Querétaro would, under normal circumstances, have progressed to the preliminary stage. However, having come bottom of the Liga MX’s ‘tabla de cocientes’ - a table that ranks clubs’ performance over the last four short tournaments - Los Gallos Blancos are barred from the postseason.

League rules state that the worst team in the ‘tabla de cocientes’ cannot qualify for the playoffs and must pay a fine of 80 million pesos (around $4.5 million). Querétaro’s place is therefore taken by Santos, who finished 13th in the Clausura 2023 league phase.

Who will face who in the preliminary round?

Preliminary-round fixtures are decided by pairing each of the four highest-placed teams, in descending order, with the lowest available side ranked ninth to 13th.

*Regular-season position in brackets