The quarterfinal round starts Wednesday in Guatemala, kicking off a whirlwind postseason schedule that will separate a champion from the other seven teams involved in the newly expanded Liguilla.
CONCACAF.com provides a preview of the action set for midweek.
Marquense vs. Comunicaciones
Comunicaciones ended the regular season as the runaway leader of the Apertura, with an impressive 50 points from 22 matches, nine better than second place Municipal. Ronald Gonzalez had the luxury of fielding a team of reserves for the final regular phase match over the weekend, which the Albos still won, 2-1, at defending champion Xelaju.
But the Cremas, who will be without suspended midfield regular and Guatemalan national teamer Carlos Figueroa for the first game of the quarterfinals, face a tricky tie when they travel to San Marcos to face Marquense.
The home side has been among the strongest in the country for the past couple tournaments, but struggled mightily at times in the Apertura 2012, going ten games in one stretch without a victory.
The western club, though, won two straight to close the season, and features a defense -- backstopped by Guatemalan national team regular Ricardo Jerez -- that gave up only 27 goals in 22 matches, despite the team's eight place regular season finish.
Suchitepequez vs. Municipal
The country's other traditional power, Municipal, finished the regular season in second, nine points off the pace set by Comunicaciones. The Rojos, who brought in Honduran coach Ramon Maradiaga midway through the season, will only be satisfied with the Liguilla if they can add to their Guatemalan record 29 titles.
Municipal travels to Mazatenango to face Suchitepequez without midfielder Wilmer Garcia and defender Hamilton Lopez, both in the process of recovering from injuries. Starting goalkeeper Jaime Penedo is out for at least the away leg as well.
The Deer boast a high-powered offense, having scored 36 times this season, good for third in the league. But Municipal put the ball in the net a whopping 46 times in 22 games, and will now face a Suchi defense that surrendered 40 goals during the course of the 2012 Apertura.
Malacateco vs. Xelaju
Hernan Medford's side initiates its title defense with a trip down the mountain to Malacatan to face sixth-seeded Malacateco.
The Super Chivos came on strong at the end of the campaign to beat Heredia for third place by a single point. Xelaju has been excellent at home this season, winning eight of eleven, but the Quetzaltenango side has won only three times in eleven road trips.
Malacateco, which ended up tied on points with Suchitepequez but took sixth place on superior goal differential, only dropped one match at Estadio Santa Lucia this season. The Bulls, coached by former Costa Rican international Mauricio Wright, are looking for their first-ever title since the club's founding, in Malacateco's 50th anniversary year.
Halcones vs. Heredia
In an east versus west clash, two sides at geographic extremes of the national territory clash, when Heredia makes the cross-country trip to the Mexican border to take on Halcones in La Mesilla.
The fixture, pitting the fourth seed versus the fifth, figures to be relatively even. Both teams are tough to beat at home -- neither squad suffered even a single reverse in its own stadium this season. Halcones won eight of eleven matches with three ties, while Heredia won its first ten matches at home, before a tie with Municipal on the second to last match day of the regular season.
The series kicks off Wednesday at the Estadio Comunal in Huehuetenango, before returning to Izabal province for the deciding weekend match in Morales.
