Monterrey is expected to go into Sunday’s meeting with Necaxa with Luis Cárdenas still in goal, a sign that Matías Almeyda is leaning on the goalkeeper who has taken over the job and left Santiago Mele and Esteban Andrada behind him in the pecking order. The projected group also keeps Ricardo Chávez on the right side, Daniel Aceves and Stefan Medina in central defense, Gerardo Arteaga on the left, and Óliver Torres in midfield.
The game comes on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at 19:00 hours in the United States and 17:00 hours in Mexico, when Monterrey plays the second date of the regular phase of the Torneo Clausura 2026 of Liga MX. That timing is why the search around Necaxa Vs Monterrey has sharpened now: it is not a distant fixture, but the next test for Almeyda in his second match with Monterrey.
One name still hangs over the projected XI. Orbelín Pineda could be available for Monterrey against Necaxa, but that is not the same as a confirmed place in the starting lineup. The distinction matters because Almeyda knows him well from Chivas and AEK Atenas, and that history makes any possible role for Pineda a detail worth watching rather than assuming.
For Monterrey, the clearest read is that Cárdenas remains first choice for now, which tells its own story after the changes in goal. The rest of the projected back line and midfield suggest continuity more than experimentation, but the final answer will arrive only when Monterrey faces Necaxa and the starting XI is made real on the field.
