Separated by just one point on the log, playoff hopefuls DC United and CF Montreal prepare for their clash at the Audi Field on Monday.
The home side are on a four-game unbeaten streak ahead of the clash in Washington, while the visitors have failed to win any of their last four.
Match preview
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Following consecutive draws on the road, DC United claimed an impressive win away from home on Thursday when they beat Columbus Crew 4-2.
Ola Kamara's brace either side of a Yordy Reyna strike put Hernan Losada's men three up at half time, before the latter scored the clincher in the 74th minute after Kevin Molino and Lucas Zelarayan had dragged the defending champions back into the contest.
The Black-and-Red have recorded eight points from the last possible 12 and climbed to sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Monday's hosts have won each of their last three games in front of their fans, but are yet to get the better of their next opponents in any of the last four meetings.
With the best defensive home record in the entire division, DC United will rely on their frugality at the back as they go in search of a first win in this fixture since 2019.
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CF Montreal ended a three-game losing streak courtesy of a 2-2 draw against Atlanta United at the Saputo Stadium on Thursday.
In a fiery clash which was marred by red cards, Wilfried Nancy's men raced to a two-goal lead early in the second half through goals from Mason Toye and Rudy Camacho 10 minutes apart, but strikes from Josef Martinez and Marcelino Moreno evened the contest.
For all their recent struggles, the Canada-based outfit are just outside the playoff places by a single point heading into Monday's game.
Only eight of their 23 points so far have come on the road, which is an area that needs significant improvement going forward.
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Team News
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Clement Diop is ruled out for the away side due to a thigh injury, while Ballou Tabla continues to battle with a groin problem.
Victor Wanyama and Rudy Camacho were given their marching orders last time out and will serve the first of a three-game suspension in this one.
Romell Quioto has not featured for Montreal since he picked up a muscle injury on duty with the Honduras national team back in July.
DC United's Joseph Mora is now eligible to participate after fully serving his one-game ban, but Moses Nyeman is still suspended.
DC United possible starting lineup:
Hamid; Alfaro, Brilliant, Najar; Mora, Moreno, Martins, Gressel; Asad, Kamara, Robertha
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Pantemis; Bassong, Camacho, Waterman; Lappalainen, Maciel, Wanyama, Choiniere; Mihailovic, Torres, Toye
We say: DC United 2-1 CF Montreal
DC United are the more in-form team heading into the contest and will fancy themselves to claim all three points. We are backing them to use their current momentum to get over the line in this one, albeit by just a narrow margin.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a DC United win with a probability of 50.95%. A win for CF Montreal had a probability of 25.36% and a draw had a probability of 23.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a DC United win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.66%) and 2-0 (8.37%). The likeliest CF Montreal win was 1-2 (6.43%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.14%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for DC United in this match.
