Two teams in the thick of a tight playoff battle in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer will square off on Saturday as CF Montreal host Charlotte FC from Saputo Stadium.
Both sides are even with 26 points this season, three behind the Chicago Fire for that final postseason berth after Le CFM lost 3-0 in the Windy City this week, while Charlotte could only manage a 2-2 tie at FC Cincinnati, their fifth successive draw in this competition.
Match preview
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Following another disappointing midweek result, Montreal are back home looking to rediscover their scoring touch, which has been invisible over the past few weeks.
Le CFM wasted their possessions in Chicago this week, looking indecisive in front of goal despite having 62% of the ball, while giving up three or more goals for a fifth time this season.
Currently on their longest goalless drought of the campaign (four games), it has become fairly common to see a zero beside their score or their opponents' when the full-time whistle blows, as 19 of their 22 matches played this year have resulted in either a shutout win, loss or draw.
The fortress that is Saputo Stadium has not been kind to the home team lately, with Le CFM losing back-to-back encounters there for the first time since 2020, while their two-game goalless drought in Montreal is the longest they have gone without scoring at home in this competition since 2019 (two).
For all of the talk surrounding their lengthy shutout streak at home, Hernan Losada has still seen his group concede their share of goals, tied for the fourth-most allowed in the Eastern Conference (32).
Only two of those goals conceded were at Saputo Stadium, while Montreal have only given up one in three previous matches versus Charlotte, beating them 2-1 at home last year, while playing to a 0-0 draw earlier this season.
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Over the past few weeks, the Crown have repeatedly failed to hang onto advantages, dropping six points when leading in the second half in three of their previous four games.
Two of those second-half leads were by a pair of goals, as Christian Lattanzio has seen his side fail to capture six matches this season after scoring first.
Three road victories is not a massive achievement, but for Charlotte, that has already equalled their highest total ever in a regular season, though they enter this contest winless in four successive away games.
Lattanzio has had difficulty building any chemistry along his backline, as their defence has been an Achilles heel for them throughout 2023, conceding more goals than anyone at this stage of the season (38).
The Crown have never won a regular-season contest in Canada, but they showed a lot of resilience in their last visit up north, erasing a 2-0 deficit at BMO Field this year to draw Toronto 2-2.
They are a side that like to play with width and possess plenty of quality on the wings, along with lots of physicality through the air, making them dangerous on set pieces, and capable of winning the lions share of aerial duels.
Team News
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Rudy Camacho missed another Montreal encounter this week through suspension, Lassi Lappalainen has a sports hernia, Mathieu Choiniere is recovering from an ankle sprain, while Romell Quioto continues to miss time because of a hamstring injury.
Kwadwo Opoku made his Montreal debut Wednesday, after being acquired in a trade with Los Angeles FC last week, Zachary Brault-Guillard and Aaron Herrera returned from international duty and Samuel Piette was on the field this week for the first time since early April, having missed plenty of action this year due to an adductor injury.
Quioto and Choiniere netted in their previous home fixture against the Crown, which they won 2-1, while one of the eight clean sheets collected by Jonathan Sirois in 2023 occurred against Charlotte.
Enzo Copetti missed the previous Charlotte match with a lower leg issue, Adilson Malanda sat out due to a problem in his left lower leg, Pablo Sisniega is still recovering from a back injury and the club signed Brecht Dejaegere on a free transfer Thursday from Ligue 1 side Toulouse, with the Belgian committing to this team until 2025.
Karol Swiderski ended a four-match goalless drought last Saturday with his team-leading sixth and seventh domestically this season, while McKinze Gaines had their only strike in their previous away outing when they drew New York City FC 1-1.
Guzman Corujo is the only Charlotte player to have found the back of the net versus Le CFM, while Kristijan Kahlina made five stops in their earlier meeting against them this season to pick up a shutout.
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Sirois; Waterman, Camacho, Corbo; Herrera, Saliba, Piette, Lassiter; Duke; Opoku, Offor
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahlina; Lindsey, Corujo, Jones, Byrne; Westwood, Bender, Arfield; Vargas, Swiderski, Jozwiak
We say: CF Montreal 2-0 Charlotte FC
A leaky Charlotte defensive line could cure Montreal's goalscoring woes, as the Crown have not looked stable at the back all season.
Le CFM are starting to get some of their regulars back from injury and international duty, and the likes of Piette and Herrera should make them a much tougher unit to penetrate when out of possession.
How to watch
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Joel Lefevre
