Canadian rivals CF Montreal and the Vancouver Whitecaps will face each other on Saturday at Saputo Stadium, the first meeting between the two in the 2024 MLS campaign.
Earlier this week, Montreal were beaten 2-0 by New York City FC, while the Caps walked away with a 3-1 victory over Minnesota United.
Match preview
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Consistency has been in short supply for Le CFM in 2024, as they followed up a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Union with a loss on Wednesday.
That has Laurent Courtois's men sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference table, two points below the playoff line, but with three teams to catch.
Throughout the domestic campaign, this team have looked vulnerable along the backline, conceding the second-most goals in the league so far (45).
On the positive side, they have been better at home, riding a five-match domestic unbeaten run at Saputo Stadium heading into this upcoming fixture.
Five times in the 2024 MLS campaign, Montreal have failed to come away with maximum points when scoring first, dropping 12 points as a result.
They have won their last five home games against the Whitecaps across all competitions, defeating them 2-1 when these sides previously faced off at Saputo Stadium in 2022.
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The Caps' scoring drought did not last long, as they have come to life offensively in their previous two domestic contests.
Two weeks ago, they were beaten 2-0 by the Portland Timbers but have won consecutive matches and netted a combined seven goals since that defeat.
Their current two-match winning run has vaulted them back into a top-four position in the Western Conference with 31 points.
So far in 2024, the Vancouver Whitecaps have only been held goalless in four domestic encounters, three of which were away from home.
Vanni Sartini's men have won five MLS contests this year as the visitors, one more than they managed in 2023 and one fewer than their previous regular-season best (2018).
While they have not beaten Le CFM at Saputo Stadium since the 2017 regular season (2-1), Vancouver have won four of their previous five encounters against them.
Team News
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Mason Toye will be questionable for CF Montreal this weekend as the American forward is struggling to recover from a lower-body injury.
Ariel Lassiter could be back after Costa Rica were eliminated from the Copa America, though Samuel Piette, Joel Waterman and Mathieu Choiniere are still away with Canada at that tournament.
There was one newcomer to their starting 11 on Wednesday, with Kwadwo Opoku coming into the lineup and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint relegated to the bench.
Tristan Blackmon missed the Caps previous encounter with a sore groin, while Damir Kreilach and Sam Adekugbe were sidelined because of calf injuries.
Ali Ahmed is still with the Canadian team at the Copa America, while Andres Cubas should be available after Paraguay were eliminated from that competition.
Captain Ryan Gauld set up all three Vancouver goals on Wednesday, scored by Sebastian Berhalter, Mathias Laborda and Brian White respectively, with the latter netting his 40th with the Caps in the MLS regular season, surpassing Camilo for the most all-time in club history.
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Sirois; Alvarez, Corbo, Sosa; Ruan, Duke, Lassiter, Edwards; Opoku, Ibrahim; Martinez
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Laborda, Veselinovic, Utvik; Raposo, Vite, Cubas, Martins; Johnson, White, Gauld
We say: CF Montreal 1-2 Vancouver Whitecaps
When Vancouver's top attacking players are clicking as they are right now, they are difficult to slow down, and the Caps should find their share of openings against a Montreal backline that have been unstable all season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
