The Mexican Liga MX is the best-attended soccer league outside of Europe and the 4th most attended soccer league in the world preceded by the German Bundesliga (1st), English Premier League (2nd), and the Spanish La Liga (3rd). During the 2014-15 season, Liga MX matches had an average attendance of 26,557 supporters. With its increasing popularity outside Europe, especially in the United States, sportsbooks have taken notice of the league and are looking to offer sports betting and Liga MX enthusiasts more entertainment options in the betting scene.
League Overview
The Liga MX, Mexico’s top division soccer league, is among the strongest soccer leagues in Latin America and is considered the strongest in North America. The league is a member of the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football); making Liga MX teams eligible to compete in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Exceptional talents that have their roots in the league include Hirving Lozano, Javier Hernandez, Carlos Vela, and Rafael Marquez. The league isn’t known for bringing in foreign superstars but it currently enjoys the heroics of Frenchman, André-Pierre Gignac.
56 clubs have competed in the league since it began in 1943. 24 teams have won the tournament, among them América and Guadalajara with 12 titles each, Toluca (10), Cruz Azul (8), León and Pumas UNAM (7), and Pachuca, Tigres UANL, and Santos Laguna (6). Santos Laguna are the current league champions having won the Clausura 2018 tournament.
Competition Format
The Liga MX is contested by 18 clubs per season. Each season is split into 2 separate and distinct competitions: the Torneo Apertura, which runs from July to December, and the Torneo Clausura, which runs from January to May. Each competition produces its own champion resulting in 2 champions per season.
Unlike the usual European tournament format, each team faces every other team just once per competition (Apertura / Clausura). The top eight teams in both tournaments then progress to a two-legged play-off style tournament, the La Liguilla. The winner of the La Liguilla is awarded the First division trophy.
At the end of the season, after both the Apertura and Clausura, one team is relegated to the 2nd division, the Ascenso MX, and one team is promoted from Ascenso MX to the Liga MX.
Features of a good Liga MX Betting Site:
There’s definitely a lot going on in every season of the Liga MX. Two competitions per season plus a playoff tournament crowns 3 champions per season. For a soccer betting enthusiast this means a lot of betting chances and variables to consider – and a lot of excitement too. Without going into too much detail, here are some things to look for when choosing Liga MX betting sites:
Betting Options
Betting on a league with more mini-tournaments and more champions in a season, you’ll want sportsbooks that offer as many betting options. Look for a site that offers a lot of bets on the different aspects of the game. Instead of just looking for straight bets on who wins and who loses, look for betting options like:
- Total goals scored in the game
- Goals per team
- Who scored the opening/closing goal
- How many corner kicks were taken during the game
- How many bookings were given
- Halftime scores
Considering the complexity of the Liga MX’s format, look for a site that covers the league seriously. Look for a betting site that has bets for the Apertura, the Clausura, and the La Liguilla – not just a “season champion.”
Live Betting
There are only 17 games per mini-tournament in the Liga MX. Make sure you find a sportsbook that allows you to bet while the games are live – just in case you are unable to place your bets earlier for whatever reason. You don’t want to miss a betting chance, especially if you’ve made good assessments on why your bet will be profitable.
More importantly, live betting allows you to maximize wins or minimize losses by making bets after you’ve noticed something during the match that could affect your chances.
Promotions
More league activity deserves more promo offers. Some betting sites only offer promos during pre-season: big offers that will encourage you to sign up with them but won’t have any more offers for you as the season progresses. Look for sportsbooks that have continuous promotions all season long. Also, take advantage of match bonuses and free bets. Stretch your deposits as much as you can.
Mobile Betting
Most sportsbooks are mobile ready, some even have mobile apps for an even easier user experience. These are the sites you want. As much as possible, avoid desktop/laptop only sports betting sites. If they aren’t in the mobile game by now, they’re likely not too serious about their sportsbook business. Also, it will be really inconvenient for you to be unable to do live betting through a mobile device.
Basic Liga MX Strategy
The good news is the season is divided into “mini-seasons” making it easier to plan your betting strategy. The challenge, the mini-tournaments will go by so fast it might catch you unprepared. To help you out with your betting strategy, here’s a 101 Guide we’ve compiled for you:
Give yourself a budget.
A bankroll for each stage of the Liga MX will do you a lot of good. This way you don’t end up spending the entire season’s betting budget by the end of the Apertura. Set a budget for your betting categories: a budget for safe bets, a budget for high-risk high-reward bets, a budget for bets on your well-studied but highly volatile game details. All this will help you pace. Lastly, never bet with money you don’t have. Play only with money you’re ready to let go of. This way your finances don’t collapse in case a bet doesn’t go your favor.
Pick a team
Don’t bet on each game! Betting on every game of every team is the fastest way to drain your bankroll. CHOOSE a team and STUDY them. Learn about your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Study changes that happened in your team and how these changes are affecting their season. Study your opponents. You’ll be able to make better betting decisions when you’re well informed. Bet only when you’re comfortable with your assessment. Don’t force a bet for betting’s sake.
Track your bets.
This helps you manage your budget and will also tell you just how good your betting decisions have been. You can’t measure your betting success if you don’t take note of your wins and losses. By tracking your bets you’ll also be able to review which decisions were profitable for you, what bets rarely win, and which betting habits to change.
Review historical League Standings…
Especially since Liga MX will have 2 tables at the end of the season. Does your team finish each season consistently in the same spot? Do they rank the same for both the Apertura and the Clausura? Are they always in the top 8? How do they fare in the La Liguilla? They may not always be in the exact position at the end of every tournament but you will get an indication of where they can finish which can help you with your bets.
Pay attention to seasonality and how it affects the games
We mean the actual season and not the tournament season. The Apertura starts in the summer and the Clausura starts in the winter. Find out how the difference in season affects teams and their players. Are some teams consistently better in the summer than in the winter, and vice versa? Does your team get more injuries in either season? Does it even matter? Your study will tell.
Maximize Live Betting
Finally, take advantage of Live Betting. Feel free to make bets on opportunities you spot in a live game. Use it to boost a win or cut a loss, either way, its there for you to make the most out of.
Best Liga MX Betting Sites
We make sure we consider the sports gambler’s interests when making a review on a sports betting site. We factor in aspects of a sport that the gamblers are likely to pay attention to or want to make a bet on.
Having said that, we’ve compiled a list of recommended Liga MX betting sites. These companies are highly rated by our team and have a great selection of La Liga bets for you to choose from. Of course, these sites were also rated based on customer service, payment methods, and withdrawal options available. We’ve taken the overall betting experience into consideration.
We encourage you to look at each one, see if any differences matter to you personally, and then look for the best odds on the games you want to bet on!
The Liga MX is a great league to follow outside European soccer. Expect the league to continue growing, especially with its new partnership with the MLS. Hopefully, our review helps you make winning decisions when betting on Liga MX matches. Good luck with the bets!