CF Montreal can maintain their narrow advantage in the Eastern Conference playoff picture when they host the New England Revolution on Saturday at Saputo Stadium in their first MLS home fixture since mid-July.
Le CFM won their first match back from the Leagues Cup break, 3-2 at Toronto, while the Revs will play their first domestic fixture this weekend since a 4-0 victory over DC United last month.
Match preview
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For a side that had not played a competitive match in nearly a month, Montreal looked pretty sharp in Toronto last Sunday, up 2-0 before the game was 30 minutes old and winning for only the second time away from home on the current MLS campaign.
That 3-2 victory last weekend was only the fourth time all season that both Montreal and their opponents had found the back of the net at least once, with Le CFM being shut out eight times on the road in 2023, seven of those games resulting in a defeat for the Canadians.
Three of their subsequent four domestic encounters will take place at Saputo Stadium, where their form has dipped a little in recent memory, losing two of their previous three matches played there, after winning six in a row, failing to concede once in all of those triumphs.
Hernan Losada's men have lost three of their last four home games against New England in all competitions but came away with a convincing 4-0 victory when they last faced them at Saputo Stadium in 2022.
They have only given up one goal in the opening half at Saputo Stadium over this domestic campaign but have not scored in the final 45 minutes at home in this competition since netting twice in a 4-0 triumph over Minnesota United last June.
To this point of the 2023 MLS season, Le CFM are undefeated when netting multiple times in a single game, winning in all but one of those encounters this year (2-2 draw at DC United).
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After a nearly three-week hiatus from their previous competitive fixture, the Revs return to the field in search of a third successive MLS victory.
Bruce Arena's side are winless in their last six MLS away contests since a 2-0 triumph at Toronto in May, though they have points in seven of 11 league fixtures this year outside of Gillette Stadium.
That victory in Toronto earlier this year ended a winless run of three matches for the Revs on the road versus Canadian opponents in the regular season, with their previous such triumph before this year coming at Saputo Stadium in September 2021 (4-1).
New England have 11 matches still to play in the 2023 regular season in what has been a solid bounce-back campaign for them, currently second in the Eastern Conference with 43 points, a 13-point improvement from where they were at this same stage a year ago.
Five more victories will assure their place in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs, while a win on Saturday versus Montreal could make the race for first in the Eastern Conference a lot more interesting, with the Revs currently trailing FC Cincinnati by eight points but with a game in hand.
Aside from their massive improvement in points from a season ago, this edition of the Revolution have been a lot tidier defensively than we have seen in past campaigns, currently tied with Cincy for the third-fewest goals conceded in the Eastern Conference this year (28).
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Team News
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Romell Quioto missed another match for Montreal last weekend because of a hamstring injury, while Jules-Anthony Vilsaint made his first start of the season for Le CFM, playing alongside Kwadwo Opoku in the attack.
A brace from Mathieu Choiniere, along with an own goal courtesy of Aime Mabika, helped propel them to a victory over Toronto in a match where five players from Quebec featured in the starting 11, including Choiniere, Vilsaint, Jonathan Sirois, Samuel Piette and Nathan Saliba.
Opoku and Chinonso Offor found the back of the net in their last MLS home fixture when they defeated Charlotte FC 2-0, as they did not allow a single shot on target to the visitors.
Tommy McNamara was on the bench when the Revs were eliminated from the Leagues Cup on penalties versus Queretaro in the last 16, Maciel is still dealing with a left Achilles issue, Henry Kessler has a sore right hamstring, Nacho Gil will likely miss another encounter with a right leg injury and Dylan Borrero is out for the season after undergoing left knee surgery.
It appears as though the Revs may be losing Djordje Petrovic very soon, with reports this week that Chelsea have agreed to purchase the Serbian goalkeeper for £12.5m, plus a further £1.5m in performance-related add-ons, which if true could mean Earl Edwards Jr. or Jacob Jackson might start this weekend, while there are rumours that the club is close to signing Tomas Vaclik, who before July was with Huddersfield Town in the Championship.
It has been well over a month since this team last played an MLS fixture when a brace from Ian Harkes, a Gustavo Bou strike and an own-goal by Brendan Hines-Ike gave them a comfortable four-goal triumph over DC United.
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Sirois; Corbo, Waterman, Campbell; Herrera, Piette, Wanyama, Choiniere; Duke; Lassiter, Opoku
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Edwards; Bye, Farrell, Romney, Sweat; Harkes, Polster; Bou, C. Gil, Boateng; Vrioni
We say: CF Montreal 1-0 New England Revolution
Having such a lengthy layoff could be a detriment to New England this weekend, especially against a side like Montreal, who need results at this stage of the campaign a lot more than the Revs.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
