TIJUANA - Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente will host the reigning Mexican league champions at the Estadio Caliente in the final regular season match of the Clausura 2014. Xolos are practically through to the playoffs already, while Leon will be desperate for the win as well as some luck in other matches.

Tijuana find themselves in a rather comfortable situation following last weekend’s 1-2 win over Atlante in cancun; their first league road win since January 20th 2013, and their first road win in any competition since August 20th 2013.

A win or a draw for the Xolos at home against the champs would guarantee a top eight finish and a return to the playoffs for the border club. A loss would leave the Xoloitzcuintles at the mercy of other results throughout the weekend.

The Xolos are looking for their first league playoff appearance since the Apertura 2012 season when they took their second place finish all the way to the final and beat Toluca to be crowned Mexican league champions.

The visiting Leon who currently sit in 12th place with 20 points still have an outsiders chance of making the playoffs. In order to do so they’ll have to beat Club Tijuana in the extremely difficult Estadio Caliente, and hope for other results to go their way.

Since April 20th 2013 (over a year ago), Xolos have only lost one match at home across all competitions; including domestic league, Copa Libertadores, and CONCACAF Champions League.

This will be the Mexican champs last chance to salvage something from this semester. They had prioritized their participation in the Copa Libertadores, and are now left out in the Round of 16 by Bolivia’s Bolivar. Leon will have an extremely long trip from Bolivia to the northern Mexican border and fatigue and morale could play a part in Leon’s play on Friday night.

Find all Tijuana Xolos news in English here.

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jonny.rico@sandiegored.com (Follow Jonny Rico on Facebook and Twitter)