Xelajú MC Faces Marquense in Thursday 16:30 Quarterfinal Leg — Marquense - Xelajú Mc

Marquense - Xelajú Mc opens the Clausura 2026 quarterfinals on Thursday at 16:30 hours at the estadio Marquesa de la Ensenada. Deportivo Marquense arrives after securing its permanence in the Liga Nacional in the last round, while Xelajú MC enters as the winner of the classification phase and the clear favorite in the tie.

Estadio Marquesa de la Ensenada

The first leg brings a new chapter of the Derbi de Occidente, with Marquense trying to extend a season that had already shifted its focus from survival to the knockout round. The setting is fixed: Thursday, 16:30 hours, in Santa Cruz del Quiché’s stadium, where the opening match of the series will set the tone for the rest of the quarterfinal.

Xelajú MC’s edge is not only built on the classification phase table. The club reaches this leg without Darío Silva and Harim Quezada, two absences that trim the options available for a match it is still expected to control. That leaves the favorite carrying the pressure of status while Marquense takes the field with less to lose after protecting its top-flight place in the last round.

Darío Silva and Harim Quezada

Silva is one of the unavailable players for Xelajú MC, and Harim Quezada is out as well. The group also has other players dealing with muscular discomfort, which adds a layer of caution to a side that comes into the quarterfinal with the stronger record from the classification phase but fewer clean personnel choices than the bracket would normally suggest.

For Marquense, the assignment is clear: keep the first leg tight and use home conditions at the estadio Marquesa de la Ensenada to stay in the series. For Xelajú MC, the task is to make its favorite status count despite the missing names and the physical issues around the squad, because the quarterfinal opens with the margin for error already smaller than its regular-season standing would imply.