Mexico get their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign underway against Trinidad and Tobago in Group A at the AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
El Tri are the favorites to progress through the group stage from Group A, which consists of Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao and El Salvador.
Since their defeat to the US national team in the CONCACAF Nations League final last month, they have been unbeaten in three friendly fixtures. They won 4-0 against Nigeria in their latest friendly last Sunday.
Trinidad and Tobago secured their qualification for the competition only last week with a 8-7 penalty shootout win over French Guiana on Wednesday.
Mexico vs Trinidad and Tobago Head-to-Head
The two national sides have squared off 18 times across all competitions. The majority of their encounters have been World Cup qualifiers and they have met four times in the Gold Cup as well.
In 18 meetings, Mexico have the better record with 12 wins, while The Soca Warriors have won only twice. The spoils have been shared four times between the two sides.
In the Gold Cup, El Tri have the better record, winning three games and being held to a 4-4 draw in a group stage fixture in the 2015 edition. They last squared off in a friendly fixture in 2019 at the Estadio Nemesio Díez. The game ended in a 2-0 win for the home side.
Mexico form guide (all competitions): W-W-D-L-W
Trinidad and Tobago form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-D-D
Mexico vs Trinidad and Tobago Team News
Mexico
Andrés Guardado suffered a muscle tear in the training session at the end of June and is set to miss the competition as he is not expected to recover for over a month. Alan Pulido is also a doubt after suffering from a cut near his ankle.
Rodolfo Pizarro was also dropped from the squad on account of an injury. Rogelio Funes Mori will make an appearance for Mexico for the first time at a major tournament.
Injured: Andrés Guardado, Rodolfo Pizarro
Doubtful: Alan Pulido
Suspended: None
Trinidad and Tobago
Khaleem Hyland, Triston Hodge and Judah Garcia picked up muscle injuries in the qualifying fixtures and had to be removed from the final squad. Noah Powder was called up as an injury replacement and is in contention to make his international debut.
Injured: Khaleem Hyland, Triston Hodge, Judah Garcia
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Mexico vs Trinidad and Tobago Predicted XI
Mexico Predicted XI (4-3-3): Alfredo Talavera; Luis Rodriguez, Gilberto Sepulveda, Hector Moreno, Jesus Gallardo; Edson Alvarez, Orbelin Pineda, Erick Gutierrez; Jesus Corona, Rogelio Funes Mori, Hirving Lozano
Trinidad and Tobago Predicted XI (4-4-2): Nicklas Frenderup; Alvin Jones, Aubrey David, Jelani Peters, Ross Russell Jr.; Ryan Telfer, Dre Fortune, Kevin Molino, Duane Muckette; Neveal Hackshaw, Marcus Joseph
Mexico vs Trinidad and Tobago Prediction
Mexico look like the favorites here as they have the edge over Trinidad and Tobago in terms of squad quality. They have also been in better form than their opponents, thus should not face a problem in kicking off the competition with a win.
Prediction: Mexico 2-0 Trinidad and Tobago