Preview: CF Montreal vs Atlanta United - prediction, team news, lineups

CF Montreal can climb out of the Eastern Conference basement on Saturday with a victory over Atlanta United at Saputo Stadium as the MLS season resumes for both sides.

Before the start of the Leagues Cup, Montreal had beaten the New England Revolution 3-1, putting them three points below the Five Stripes in the table, with the latter playing to a 2-2 draw against the Seattle Sounders in their previous league fixture.

Match preview

Their Leagues Cup campaign may have ended early, but Le CFM have some positive things to build off down the stretch of the MLS season.

They have been in a position to win or collect points in nearly every competitive game since July, earning four positive results in that span, while suffering three defeats by a single goal, two of which were at the Leagues Cup.

Marco Donadel’s side can win consecutive league fixtures on Saturday for the first time all year and claim just their second triumph at Saputo Stadium in the 2025 competition.

The last two times that they have given up the opening goal in a game, Montreal have come away with a win, while they have lost their previous two affairs when drawing first blood.

So far this season, they have dropped four points at home when scoring first but have netted just two goals in MLS this year in the second half at Saputo Stadium.

Le CFM have points in four of their previous five regular-season home contests versus Atlanta, including a 1-0 triumph in this exact fixture a year ago.

While they are not short on excitement, rarely have we seen Atlanta United string together much consistency throughout the 2025 campaign.

On 10 occasions this year, four or more goals have been scored in their league games, though Ronny Deila’s team have failed to win in six of those instances.

Coming into this weekend, they are winless in their last eight MLS affairs, despite netting the opener in their previous two league encounters.

As things stand, they are 14 points below the post-season line in the Eastern Conference, with only 10 matches remaining to try and salvage this disappointing campaign.

Besides the Los Angeles Galaxy, Atlanta are the only other team in MLS this year that have not won an away contest, scoring a goal or fewer in 10 of those 11 games.

The Five Stripes have emerged victorious in their last two meetings versus Le CFM, ousting the Canadians on penalties in the 2024 wildcard round at Saputo Stadium.

CF Montreal Major League Soccer form:

CF Montreal form (all competitions):

Atlanta United Major League Soccer form:

Atlanta United form (all competitions):

Team News

An upper body issue may keep Tom Pearce out of the Montreal fold this weekend, Fabian Herbers could be sidelined with an upper body injury, while Joel Waterman will be suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

Prince Osei Owusu fired home their equalising goal against the Revs, with Dante Sealy and Olger Escobar scoring in the second half to give them maximum points.

Atlanta United could be missing Ajani Fortune this weekend, as he has a sore foot, and Josh Cohen will be doubtful because of an arm injury.

Yeimar Gomez Andrade of Seattle put them in front in their previous MLS encounter with an early own goal, though it was Aleksei Miranchuk who rescued a point, netting in the 99th minute.

CF Montreal possible starting lineup:

Gillier; Bugaj, Craig, Alvarez, Petrasso; Piette, Loturi; Sealy, Duke, Clark; Owusu

Atlanta United possible starting lineup:

Guzan; Hernandez, Gregersen, Williams, Amador; Slisz, Muyumba; Almiron, Miranchuk, Thiare; Latte Lath

We say: CF Montreal 2-2 Atlanta United

These are two of the sloppiest defensive teams in the league, so we expect to see plenty of chances both ways, though rarely have either side shown a killer instinct or the ability to take control of a game.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.