In their first MLS away match under new management, Nashville SC will travel to Saputo Stadium to battle CF Montreal on Saturday.
Le CFM lost for a fourth successive time in the regular season last weekend, 5-1, at Toronto, while the Boys in Gold came away with a 1-1 draw at home to Atlanta United.
Match preview
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A season that began with so much promise in La Belle Province has turned stale, with Montreal currently on an eight-match winless run in all competitions.
After being knocked out of the Canadian Championship by Forge this week (3-2 on aggregate), their focus will be solely on the MLS campaign, as this side have a lot of ground to make up in the playoff race.
Laurent Courtois's men are currently 13th in the Eastern Conference, sitting five points behind DC United for the final playoff spot.
Their backline has been far too easy to penetrate recently, conceding three or more goals in their last four domestic affairs while allowing the second-most goals in the league thus far (31).
Entering this match, Montreal are winless in four successive matches in all competitions at Saputo Stadium, conceding a combined eight goals in their last three MLS home fixtures.
Should they lose this weekend, it would mark the first time they will have suffered at least three successive defeats at Saputo Stadium in a single regular season since 2017 (five).
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The Gary Smith era as coach of Nashville SC is over, and interim boss Rumba Munthali must try to clean up what has been a messy 2024 MLS campaign for the Boys in Gold.
Smith was the only coach that this club had ever known, but not even a victory over Toronto on their 12th matchday could save his job, as he became the first MLS manager to be sacked this year, a day after collecting his 100th victory in all competitions with this franchise.
In his first match at the helm last Saturday, Munthali saw his side squander a first-half advantage and settle for a single point.
Dropping points has become a common occurrence for Nashville in 2024, with this team failing to hang onto a second-half advantage in four domestic encounters this season, losing 11 points as a result.
The silver lining is that despite being off to their worst-ever start in an MLS campaign (15 points after 13 games), they are only two points back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Nashville are winless in five successive away matches in all competitions, with the last four ending in defeat, though they have won two of their three visits to Saputo Stadium.
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Team News
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Montreal could be without Ousman Jabang this weekend due to an adductor strain, Mason Toye sat out against Toronto with a knock, Raheem Edwards is doubtful because of an abdomen issue, while Nathan-Dylan Saliba will be questionable with a hip injury.
Lassi Lappalainen missed their match last Saturday with a minor knock, Josef Martinez is recovering from a knee injury, Matias Coccaro remains sidelined due to a knee issue, while Kwadwo Opoku is nearing a return from an ankle strain.
Joel Waterman played in his 100th MLS match for CF Montreal a week ago, Mathieu Choiniere collected his 130th cap across all competitions for Le CFM and Sunusi Ibrahim had their only goal, his second of the domestic campaign.
Last week, Nashville were without Dru Yearwood because of a sore ankle, Randall Leal sat out due to a problem in his hip and Lukas MacNaughton continues to recover from ankle surgery.
Tyler Boyd and Shaq Moore started for the first time since sustaining injuries on March 23 against Los Angeles FC, while Walker Zimmerman appeared in his third consecutive MLS encounter since returning from the injured list in mid-April.
Hany Mukhtar led the Boys in Gold with three shots last weekend, scoring their only goal versus Atlanta, and Joe Willis made three stops to preserve a single point.
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Sirois; Campbell, Waterman, Corbo; Ruan, Choiniere, Piette, Lassiter; Duke, Yankov; Ibrahim
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Moore, Zimmerman, Maher, Lovitz; Muyl, Godoy, Davis, Shaffelburg; Mukhtar, Surridge
We say: CF Montreal 2-1 Nashville SC
Montreal may be in a slump, but we believe they will catch a break against a Nashville side that look just as disorganised as Montreal defensively but are also rather uncomfortable when in front.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
