Tigres UANL is a team the Columbus Crew will need to respect.

The defending MLS champions will face the Liga MX side in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday as the Black & Gold look for a spot in the semifinals for the first time ever.

It won’t be an easy task for Columbus. Tigres is a tough and respectable team with a following that will likely make Lower.com Field sound more like Estadio Universitario. The Mexican side, who won the Champions League in 2020, is one of the most dominant teams south of the U.S. border and has star players with plenty of international experience.

By analyzing their last games, Liga MX position and key players, it is possible to better understand the next Crew’s opponent.

Current Liga MX position

Tigres are currently playing in the domestic Clausura 2024 tournament, where they are in fourth place with 24 out of 39 possible points, sitting behind Club Améica, Monterrey and Toluca. Monterrey and América sit tied for first in the Liga MX table, holding a four-point difference over Tigres.

Having played 13 matches, Tigres has a positive record of 7-3-3. All three losses came against top five teams. America, Toluca and Cruz Azul beat Tigres in even matches decided by details.

Historically, Tigres is one of the strongest teams in Liga MX. Los Auriazules have eight titles, the fifth-most in Mexico. Last year, in Apertura 2023, Tigres earned finished third.

Last five games

Tigres lost two of the team’s last five matches, in Liga MX play, but have three straight wins in all competitions, including the deciding 4-2 victory against Orlando City SC in the last round of the Champions Cup.

Toluca, with a 2-1 victory over in March, dominated Tigres with great control of the ball and possession, leading to goal chances. The opponent plays a similar attacking system as the Black & Gold’s Wilfried Nancy, which could be an advantage for Columbus in this series, especially at home.

America recently defeated Tigers by 2-0 in an abnormal game. Tigres had control of the match but lacked effectiveness. America barely had possession and accuracy with the ball but scored two times out of three shots on goal.

Star players and lineup

Robert Dante Siboldi, Tigres’ head coach, typically lines his team up with a 4-5-1 formation, with key players in central positions.

Juan Brunetta

The 26-year-old Argentinian midfielder, who just joined Tigres, is the team’s creative mind and has great chemistry with forward Andre-Pierre Gignac. In just 12 matches in Liga MX, Brunetta already registered six goals and assists.

Andre-Pierre Gignac

The 38-year-old French striker has been at Tigres for almost 10 years. The French international has scored 204 goals after arriving in 2015. A total of 342 goals have been scored throughout his career in the French national team, in Europe and with Tigres.

The Crew will host Tigres for the first leg on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. The second leg will be in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, on April 9, with kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET.