Monterrey, Tigres UANL rivalry comes early to Houston with Leagues Cup encounter

Days after the first Clasico Regio in the U.S. in over a decade sold out, another edition of the rivalry between the two Monterrey area Liga MX teams was announced for Houston's Shell Energy Stadium.

Monterrey and Tigres UANL both advanced to the Round of 16 of the 2023 Leagues Cup. With both advancing out of the West region, the two were paired following their respective wins over Pacific Northwest clubs Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps.

Now the two will meet in Houston, the neutral site chosen for this encounter, in an official setting. This will be two months before the two are set to meet in the same stadium for an international friendly.

Who will play in the Clasico Regio?

Monterrey and Tigres UANL are both bringing their best available squads as this is an official competition. It is also important to note that, like MLS, Liga MX is on break for one month during the Leagues Cup.

German Berterame will not be available for Rayados due to a season-ending injury in the Portland game. Despite that, the Monterrey squad will still feature stars like Rogelio Funes Mori, Luis Romo, and Maxi Meza.

Tigres UANL will be the favorite for having a full-strength squad led by the likes of Andre-Pierre Gignac, Guido Pizarro, and Nahuel Guzman. Other fan favorites like Sebastian Cordova and Diego Lainez are also likely to see minutes.

How are Monterrey and Tigres UANL doing in Leagues Cup?

Two of the highest-valued squads in all of Concacaf, Rayados and Tigres UANL were considered among the favorites to win it all. Both clubs won their respective groups in the West region.

Tigres UANL took narrow wins against Portland Timbers and San Jose Earthquakes to finish first in the West 1 group. Gignac scored a remarkable goal to tie against Vancouver as PKs decided the encounter, as Guzman brought his habitual mind games to the Leagues Cup.

Monterrey took wins over longtime MLS contenders in Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders FC to win the West 2 group. Berterame scored five of the team's seven goals in the group stage before Maxi Meza scored the lone goal against Portland in the Round of 16.

Of course, only one will move on to the quarterfinals when the winner is decided in Houston. If the game isn't decided in 90 minutes, a penalty shootout will determine which team advances. No extra time will be played.

When are tickets available?

Tickets are on sale online through SeatGeek.com. Resale tickets are available through other websites as well but only SeatGeek provides face-value tickets, depending on availability, from the venue. Shell Energy Stadium only manages digital tickets so there are no physical sales at the stadium box office.