Tonight at 7:30pm, Atlanta United will kick off their Leagues Cup 2025 campaign at home against Club Necaxa. Over the first two major editions of the tournament, United are yet to win and were grouped in 2023 and 2024. Now, with a new Leagues Cup format without groups, the task to move on from the initial round gets harder. Will their first opponent add to the level of difficulty? Necaxa are not a big-name Mexican club, and casual and even hardcore MLS fans may not be aware of who they are. So, we broke down the club’s recent history, tactical plan, and key players to watch out for.
Who is Club Necaxa?
Necaxa are consistently an average squad in the Mexican league table, but that’s impressive enough after predominantly being a second division club until promotion in the 2015-16 season and relocating from Mexico City to Aguascalientes in 2003 to grow the fanbase. In the 2024 Apertura season, they went 3-6-8 and finished 13th, but more recently in the 2024 Clausura season, they went 10-1-6 and qualified for the playoffs in 5th place, falling to Tigres in the first round. Currently after 3 games in the Apertura season, they are 7th with 4 points at 1-1-1. The club is owned by a star studded group including Eva Longoria, Ryan Reynolds, and Rob McElhenney and have had a documentary ordered by FX in a similar move to Wrexham.
Coached by Fernando Gaga, who had controversial exits and disappointing results managing Chivas de Guadalajara and Boca Juniors, “The Lightning Bolts” pride themselves on a quick and exciting brand of football. When they have the ball, they build out of the back with 3 defenders, looking to find midfielders continuously making runs into and out of space. They will also look to find their wingers, who stretch the field as much as possible. When doing so, they seem vulnerable to well-timed pressure. Once they advance the ball into the final third, attacking midfielders and strikers will constantly move into space and between defenders, looking to connect through balls and find gaps in the defense. They are also well-known for being efficient on the counter attack.
One of Necaxa’s biggest threats is Agustin Palavecino, who had 8 goals and 6 assists over 36 matches in 2024 and already has a goal and assist this season. He was a LigaMX All-Star this season. Patel Perez joins him in the midfield as a goalscoring option, with 2 in 3 matches this year and 4 in 18 appearances last year after a move from Chivas. Ricardo Monreal is a longtime starting forward who has an assist this season. Over 4 seasons, his best year was the 2023-24 season, where he had 4 goals and 9 assists. Finally, the biggest threat to Atlanta United is starting forward Diber Cambindo. In 51 appearances with the club, Cambindo has scored 26 goals to go along with 4 assists and not only can make piercing runs through the backline, but is dangerous in the air.
On defense, when the opposition has the ball in their defensive third, Necaxa step very high but do not commit to a press. When in the middle third, however, they will sprint to the ball and try to close the player down, and while it sometimes overwhelms opponents, this creates a lot of space in the midfield. The quick pressure will continue until the ball reaches the final third, in which they more-so drop off and commit many players behind the ball. If the ball enters their box, they will close down space with as many of those bodies as they can.
Leading their backline is captain Alexis Peña, with over 100 appearances since 2018. He was an LiaMX All-Star in 2024. With presumed starter Agustin Olivieros out due to a leg injury, young defenders join the lead center back. Tomas Jacob, a 21-year old Argentinian, started the last match against Club America, and 23-year old Alejandro Andrade rotates in from the bench. A notable fullback is Christian Calderon, on loan from Club America who has racked up a surprising amount of goals and assists over his career as a shoe-in starter with multiple LigaMX teams.
Atlanta and Necaxa are similar in a few ways. Both employ a press system, with Atlanta’s more aggressive higher up the pitch and Necaxa’s more aggressive in the middle third. Both teams give up a lot of space in the midfield. However, Atlanta’s system that relies more on playing out wide in the final third and a slower buildup out of the back causes some challenges. Time on the ball when moving it forward will be minimal, so long switches of play that Ronny Deila likes will be a must. A problem over this season has been sloppy passes behind teammates, and while less pressure from MLS sides allows Atlanta to often get away with that, Necaxa will be ready to win the ball. It’s great if Atlanta can get the ball out wide and attack, but can they break down a side that will sit back in their defensive third like many have before in Mercedes-Benz Stadium with success? It will be a big test for Alexey Miranchuk and Miguel Almiron, who have slowly begun to combine with each other more often and with greater success, as seen in the Seattle matchup this past weekend. It will also be a big test for the skillful and eager attacking presence of Luke Brennan on the left wing, who likes to drive at defenders himself. The biggest challenge may be faced by the backline; no matter who starts between Derrick Williams, Stian Gregersen, and Enea Mihaj, will they be able to handle the through runs and counter attacking pace of their opponent?
With the new Leagues Cup format, there is no room for error and United will likely need to win all 3 games to have a chance at qualifying for the quarterfinals. This first match isn’t unwinnable by any means, but it will certainly be a strenuous test.
Below are some extended highlights from Necaxa’s last three matches that helped in the formation of this report.