Though just into the third week, some managerial seats are hotter than others as the league's relegation race starts to choke some teams.
This weekend's slate of games features several interesting matchups: the Cruz Azul-Pumas pairing relives an emotional quarter final series between both Mexico City squadrons that left league leading Cruz Azul eliminated. Puebla-Estudiantes features the lukewarm homecoming of former Puebla manager Jose Luis Sanchez Sola, who left the team amidst controversy in 2010.
Finally, Necaxa-Atlas and Queretaro-Morelia may dictate who's at the bottom of the relegation pile at the end of the weekend. Chivas might be searching for a new manager if Jose Luis Real does not pick up the team's first three-pointer against San Luis.
This may be strike three for Necaxa manager Daniel Brailovsky as his Rayos have been unable to get their season off the ground with two straight losses.
The Aguascalientes-based team are fighting for their lives as they sit at the very bottom of a very heated relegation battle that may have them packing their bags for the Liga de Ascenso for the second time since 2009.
Although that might seem unlikely to the casual Mexican league fan, the idea that Atlas - sans title since 1951 - are at the very top of the league table is a bit more ludicrous.
Two straight wins including a 5-0 thrashing of Morelia in Week 1 have the red and blacks sitting pretty over the other 17 teams at the moment.
Atlas will be without Hebert Alferez who is out due to injury. Gerardo Espinoza is also doubtful, still not fully recovered from a knock picked up last week.
The defending champions are trying to recover from a full-blown case of "Championitis" after losses in their first two matches have them in a very uncommon spot in the league table: dead last.
Monterrey still count on the formidable strike power of Humberto Suazo, Aldo de Nigris and Nery Cardozo to get their offense rolling, but so far that has been nothing more than wet gunpowder in the first two matches of the season.
Meanwhile, Atlante are coming off a shock victory over Cruz Azul in which the Potros displayed blazing speed, excellent offensive understanding and a willingness to attack from the opening whistle to the 90th minute.
Monterrey will be aware of diminutive Atlante midfielder Christian Bermudez, who has been on fire of late, with his form boiling over against Cruz Azul in the form of a goal.
Following a disappointing draw at home and a loss away, Querétaro return home to La Corregidora to face a Morelia team that is also starved for points after negative results against two Guadalajara-based teams have them sitting at 1 point after two weeks.
The mediocre end to last season and slow start in this campaign has some analysts wondering if this is the last match for Tomas Boy in charge of the "Monarchs", while new Querétaro boss Gustavo Matosas is keen to get his team rolling after some flashes of good football in previous weeks.
Both teams share a common problem of a lack of offensive punch in key parts of the matches they've played in. Thus, a low-scoring, scrappy affair is most likely in the cards, with both teams bent on getting a 1-0 or 2-1 win to get their season back on track.
A marquee matchup between two of the country's biggest teams also doubles as a local derby, as Mexico City heavyweights Cruz Azul and UNAM Pumas face each other in a big early season battle.
Visiting Pumas will most likely have to face the Blues without Paraguayan striker Dante López, who is doubtful due to injury. Also MIA is Jehu Chiapas, a midfielder who has been instrumental to the team's success in recent seasons.
The face-off will be an enthralling rematch of the quarterfinal series that shockingly left league leaders Cruz Azul out of the title chase in last season's playoffs.
Needing to win by two goals in the Estadio Azul, Pumas played a heroic match in which strikes towards the beginning and the end of the game bookended their ticket to the semifinals.
Is this the swan song for embattled Chivas manager Jose Luis Real?
Should Chivas fail to beat San Luis this Saturday night at the Estadio Omnilife, new team president Rafael Ortega might want to make a statement by replacing Real after three winless matches.
Chivas' task will not be easy, as San Luis have displayed good form to open the season. Both teams will be missing a key player, as offensive spark plug Jorge Enriquez is out for Chivas, while San Luis defender Juan de la Barrera is still recovering after a serious car accident.
The match will probably mark a return for midfielder Adolfo Bautista, who has been criticized for his lack of form stemming back to 2010 and a mediocre World Cup with Mexico. Young striker Othoniel Arce will once again be San Luis' only striker, and will hope to continue his scoring ways against the Guadalajara side.
In Torreón, Santos Laguna will match up against a growing Pachuca squad who have seen their generational shift rebuild that squad much faster than they would have expected.
Pablo Marini's team will march into the new Estadio Corona with a fair bit more confidence than the usual visitor, as their last away match was a resounding 2-0 victory over América in the season opener.
Santos will try to revert last week's form, a disappointing performance that saw them lose to Pumas at University City. With Panama defender Felipe Baloy playing for his national team at the Copa Centroamericana, there will be a sizable gap in the green and white's back line.
Pachuca report no injuries or suspensions, so there will be no excuses for failing to shore up their back line against the formidable duo of Christian Benitez and Carlos Quintero, the Santos strikers who have been on point for quite some time.
Sergio Lugo is still searching for his first win as Toluca manager as he has come up empty in the first two attempts as head coach of the Diablos Rojos.
This week's opponent will be no pushover, as the Jaguares have been on point to start the season, and were only a few minutes away from a six-point start last week until América drew 2-2 against them in the last section of their match in Chiapas.
Toluca will have one intangible in their favor, as Chiapas striker Jackson Martinez will be out due to injury, severely crippling the Jaguars' offensive repertoire.
That will mean more pressure on playmaker Damian Manso, who scored the team's only goal in their Week 1 win.
Ecuador international Jaime Ayovi will start for Toluca, and the Red Devils will hope he bags his first goals for the team since joining them this winter.
In Puebla, the Camoteros will face upstart Estudiantes Tecos, who shocked the country by defeating Monterrey 3-2 last Friday in Guadalajara.
The home team will also have to face its scorned ex-manager, Jose Luis Sanchez Sola, who left the team amidst controversy last season when a controversial ownership change left Sánchez's previous employer, Francisco Bernat, briefly in prison.
Sánchez took Puebla to great heights after obtaining a painful promotion to the First Division several years ago, but was unceremoniously allowed to leave after Ricardo Henaine took the team's operations over.
The new manager, Jose Luis Trejo, is a veteran who put Cruz Azul in the Copa Libertadores 2001 final, but has yet to make his mark in Puebla after only a half-season in charge.
Closing out the weekend slate, a battle between the league's two most veteran managers. América's Manuel Lapuente and Tigres' Ricardo Ferretti square off at the Estadio Azteca as the Eagles search for their first win of the season after a disappointing start that yielded a home loss and a last-second draw at Chiapas.
América midfielder Daniel Montenegro has been vocal about being left on the bench for the first two matches, as the former Argentina international has been vital for América in the last few seasons.
Meanwhile, UANL Tigres' offensive arsenal are slowly taking form. Danilinho, Carlos Ochoa, Hector Mancilla, Lucas Lobos and Damian Alvarez may form a quintet of firepower at any point during the season -- the earlier the better for Tiger fans.
USA international Jonathan Bornstein is fully expected to make his long-awaited debut for UANL, the former Chivas USA player was injured through the first two weeks of the season.
América will hold a pre-game celebration for long time midfielder Germán Villa, who announced his retirement from professional football in December of 2010.
Finally, Necaxa-Atlas and Queretaro-Morelia may dictate who's at the bottom of the relegation pile at the end of the weekend. Chivas might be searching for a new manager if Jose Luis Real does not pick up the team's first three-pointer against San Luis.
This may be strike three for Necaxa manager Daniel Brailovsky as his Rayos have been unable to get their season off the ground with two straight losses.
The Aguascalientes-based team are fighting for their lives as they sit at the very bottom of a very heated relegation battle that may have them packing their bags for the Liga de Ascenso for the second time since 2009.
Although that might seem unlikely to the casual Mexican league fan, the idea that Atlas - sans title since 1951 - are at the very top of the league table is a bit more ludicrous.
Two straight wins including a 5-0 thrashing of Morelia in Week 1 have the red and blacks sitting pretty over the other 17 teams at the moment.
Atlas will be without Hebert Alferez who is out due to injury. Gerardo Espinoza is also doubtful, still not fully recovered from a knock picked up last week.
The defending champions are trying to recover from a full-blown case of "Championitis" after losses in their first two matches have them in a very uncommon spot in the league table: dead last.
Monterrey still count on the formidable strike power of Humberto Suazo, Aldo de Nigris and Nery Cardozo to get their offense rolling, but so far that has been nothing more than wet gunpowder in the first two matches of the season.
Meanwhile, Atlante are coming off a shock victory over Cruz Azul in which the Potros displayed blazing speed, excellent offensive understanding and a willingness to attack from the opening whistle to the 90th minute.
Monterrey will be aware of diminutive Atlante midfielder Christian Bermudez, who has been on fire of late, with his form boiling over against Cruz Azul in the form of a goal.
Following a disappointing draw at home and a loss away, Querétaro return home to La Corregidora to face a Morelia team that is also starved for points after negative results against two Guadalajara-based teams have them sitting at 1 point after two weeks.
The mediocre end to last season and slow start in this campaign has some analysts wondering if this is the last match for Tomas Boy in charge of the "Monarchs", while new Querétaro boss Gustavo Matosas is keen to get his team rolling after some flashes of good football in previous weeks.
Both teams share a common problem of a lack of offensive punch in key parts of the matches they've played in. Thus, a low-scoring, scrappy affair is most likely in the cards, with both teams bent on getting a 1-0 or 2-1 win to get their season back on track.
A marquee matchup between two of the country's biggest teams also doubles as a local derby, as Mexico City heavyweights Cruz Azul and UNAM Pumas face each other in a big early season battle.
Visiting Pumas will most likely have to face the Blues without Paraguayan striker Dante López, who is doubtful due to injury. Also MIA is Jehu Chiapas, a midfielder who has been instrumental to the team's success in recent seasons.
The face-off will be an enthralling rematch of the quarterfinal series that shockingly left league leaders Cruz Azul out of the title chase in last season's playoffs.
Needing to win by two goals in the Estadio Azul, Pumas played a heroic match in which strikes towards the beginning and the end of the game bookended their ticket to the semifinals.
Is this the swan song for embattled Chivas manager Jose Luis Real?
Should Chivas fail to beat San Luis this Saturday night at the Estadio Omnilife, new team president Rafael Ortega might want to make a statement by replacing Real after three winless matches.
Chivas' task will not be easy, as San Luis have displayed good form to open the season. Both teams will be missing a key player, as offensive spark plug Jorge Enriquez is out for Chivas, while San Luis defender Juan de la Barrera is still recovering after a serious car accident.
The match will probably mark a return for midfielder Adolfo Bautista, who has been criticized for his lack of form stemming back to 2010 and a mediocre World Cup with Mexico. Young striker Othoniel Arce will once again be San Luis' only striker, and will hope to continue his scoring ways against the Guadalajara side.
In Torreón, Santos Laguna will match up against a growing Pachuca squad who have seen their generational shift rebuild that squad much faster than they would have expected.
Pablo Marini's team will march into the new Estadio Corona with a fair bit more confidence than the usual visitor, as their last away match was a resounding 2-0 victory over América in the season opener.
Santos will try to revert last week's form, a disappointing performance that saw them lose to Pumas at University City. With Panama defender Felipe Baloy playing for his national team at the Copa Centroamericana, there will be a sizable gap in the green and white's back line.
Pachuca report no injuries or suspensions, so there will be no excuses for failing to shore up their back line against the formidable duo of Christian Benitez and Carlos Quintero, the Santos strikers who have been on point for quite some time.
Sergio Lugo is still searching for his first win as Toluca manager as he has come up empty in the first two attempts as head coach of the Diablos Rojos.
This week's opponent will be no pushover, as the Jaguares have been on point to start the season, and were only a few minutes away from a six-point start last week until América drew 2-2 against them in the last section of their match in Chiapas.
Toluca will have one intangible in their favor, as Chiapas striker Jackson Martinez will be out due to injury, severely crippling the Jaguars' offensive repertoire.
That will mean more pressure on playmaker Damian Manso, who scored the team's only goal in their Week 1 win.
Ecuador international Jaime Ayovi will start for Toluca, and the Red Devils will hope he bags his first goals for the team since joining them this winter.
In Puebla, the Camoteros will face upstart Estudiantes Tecos, who shocked the country by defeating Monterrey 3-2 last Friday in Guadalajara.
The home team will also have to face its scorned ex-manager, Jose Luis Sanchez Sola, who left the team amidst controversy last season when a controversial ownership change left Sánchez's previous employer, Francisco Bernat, briefly in prison.
Sánchez took Puebla to great heights after obtaining a painful promotion to the First Division several years ago, but was unceremoniously allowed to leave after Ricardo Henaine took the team's operations over.
The new manager, Jose Luis Trejo, is a veteran who put Cruz Azul in the Copa Libertadores 2001 final, but has yet to make his mark in Puebla after only a half-season in charge.
Closing out the weekend slate, a battle between the league's two most veteran managers. América's Manuel Lapuente and Tigres' Ricardo Ferretti square off at the Estadio Azteca as the Eagles search for their first win of the season after a disappointing start that yielded a home loss and a last-second draw at Chiapas.
América midfielder Daniel Montenegro has been vocal about being left on the bench for the first two matches, as the former Argentina international has been vital for América in the last few seasons.
Meanwhile, UANL Tigres' offensive arsenal are slowly taking form. Danilinho, Carlos Ochoa, Hector Mancilla, Lucas Lobos and Damian Alvarez may form a quintet of firepower at any point during the season -- the earlier the better for Tiger fans.
USA international Jonathan Bornstein is fully expected to make his long-awaited debut for UANL, the former Chivas USA player was injured through the first two weeks of the season.
América will hold a pre-game celebration for long time midfielder Germán Villa, who announced his retirement from professional football in December of 2010.
