CF Montreal can close the gap between themselves and first place in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer when they host the New England Revolution on Saturday at Saputo Stadium.
The Canadians have points in six consecutive matches, and are currently five points behind the Philadelphia Union with a game in hand, while the Revs are unbeaten in five successive fixtures and are a point above the playoff line in sixth.
Match preview
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It may be taking them more work than necessary, but no matter how they have done it, Montreal find themselves in a solid position to return to the postseason for the first time since 2020, currently second in the East, a point above New York City FC.
Last week they squandered two one-goal leads just as they did the previous week in a 2-2 draw against Inter Miami, though they were able to finish the job on the road against the Houston Dynamo, thanks to a goal 21 minutes from the end.
Wilfried Nancy has turned this team into a powerful and dynamic attacking unit, scoring the third-most tallies in the Eastern Conference while sitting second in MLS regarding expected goals.
The main concern for this team at the moment is their inability to prevent goals, conceding the second-most (41) among the 14 clubs currently in a playoff position.
Nancy and his group deserve a ton of credit for staying consistent in what has been a demanding 2022 schedule for the Quebecers, who made it into the Quarter-Finals of the CONCACAF Champions League earlier in the year.
All nine of their remaining games will be against teams in their conference, who they have not lost to since dropping a 4-1 decision to the defending MLS Cup champions back on March 12.
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Their regular season path has not been as smooth as the previous one, but Bruce Arena has his Revs team above the playoff line with 34 points.
That may be significantly less than what they had in their record-setting 2021 regular season, but since the start of May, they have been the model of consistency, being the only MLS side with fewer than three losses over that stretch.
New England struggled with set pieces against Toronto on Wednesday, conceding twice from dead-ball situations, though they have played a lot stingier in transition, failing to concede a goal from open play in 548 consecutive minutes.
Goalkeeping was among the most substantial aspects of their play last season and that has helped them out tremendously once again in 2022.
They have found another spectacular one between the sticks to replace all-star Matt Turner, enabling them to collect several points throughout the campaign.
A 31st-minute goal from the penalty spot by Toronto on Wednesday ended an impressive 402-minute shutout streak by the Revolution, the second longest in club history, 18 minutes shy of the record from 2013.
After going winless in three straight road matches, they have points in their last three away games and have won their previous two affairs in Montreal.
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Team News
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Romell Quioto has three goals in his last two games for Montreal, scoring his 12th of the year at Houston last Saturday, while Alistair Johnston notched his second of the campaign, as did Lassi Lappalainen, whose tally in the 69th minutes proved to be the winner.
Samuel Piette collected his second assist of the year, putting him in a tie for fourth on the team, while Joaquin Torres drew even with Djordje Mihailovic, Kamal Miller, Lappalainen and Quioto with his third helper of the season.
James Pantemis has conceded multiple goals in back-to-back games, while Montreal are still missing Ahmed Hamdy due to a right leg problem and Tomas Giraldo has a hamstring strain.
Tommy McNamara found the back of the net for a third straight match, scoring the opener for New England on Wednesday as he is one cap shy of 200 for his MLS career.
Justin Rennicks tallied for the first time since April 9, and Carles Gil picked up his 13th assist of the year, putting him one back of Luciano Acosta for the league lead.
Esmir Bajraktarevic made his Revolution debut when he came on as a second-half substitute against the Reds, Noel Buck made his second-successive appearance and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic who has earned three straight selections to the MLS Team of the Week, made five saves to preserve a point in midweek.
Dylan Borrero, Maciel, Gustavo Bou, Giacomo Vrioni and Jacob Jackson all sat out of their previous fixture with leg injuries, while Henry Kessler failed to feature because of health and safety protocols.
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Pantemis; Miller, Camacho, Brault-Guillard; Lappalainen, Piette, Choiniere, Johnston; Mihailovic, Kamara; Quioto
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Jones, Makoun, Bell, Farrell; McNamara, Polster, Bye; Rivera, Gil; Rennicks
We say: CF Montreal 2-1 New England Revolution
Both of these teams have been vulnerable on the back end, though we are giving Montreal the edge as they have found a way to overcome that deficiency throughout the campaign, plus they will have a few more days rest in between games compared to the Revs.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
