After seeing their franchise-record unbeaten run snapped in their previous encounter, CF Montreal have a chance to regain first place out East on Sunday when they host Real Salt Lake at Saputo Stadium.
Montreal are currently third in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, following a 2-1 defeat to Nashville SC in midweek, while Claret and Cobalt are winless in five straight domestic affairs away from home.
Match preview
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As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and unfortunately for Wilfried Nancy and his team, that time arrived on Wednesday, as they saw an eight-game unbeaten run snapped at the hands of a team that they have yet to beat in five successive encounters.
It was a tough opening 15 minutes for Montreal in the Music City as they struggled to keep up with the Boys in Gold, while some poor defending put them behind just before the half-hour mark.
Nancy was impressed with the pushback that he saw from his group in the second half at GEODIS Park, although their final touch often let them down.
Their next four MLS games will be in the friendly confines of Saputo Stadium, where they have been in sparkling form of late, winning their last three matches played there, outscoring their opponents 8-3 over that stretch.
One of the many things that stands out when you see this team play is the flexibility that Nancy can depend on, with numerous players capable of rotating into different positions.
When playing in front of their fans, we tend to see them come out more aggressively than on the road as they press a lot higher up the field, creating the bulk of their chances in transition.
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RSL have been down numerous times this season, though they have proven to be a solid reactive unit throughout this campaign.
A 2-1 win against Austin FC last Saturday was the seventh comeback victory for Pablo Mastroeni and his side since the start of last season (including playoffs), which is more than any MLS team in that time.
When these players move with a sense of urgency and get the ball out wide, they can do some damage, while effectively breaking down some solid defensive units.
Since a 6-0 defeat to New York City FC in mid-April, Claret and Cobalt have done a much better job at closing down space in their third of the field, conceding only three goals in their previous four games and posting two clean sheets.
We have seen them play passively on the road of late, without a goal in three of their last four matches as the visiting team, firing two shots on target in each of those outings.
They have yet to earn a point in any of their previous four trips to Montreal, narrowly losing the last meeting against them 2-1 in 2019.
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Team News
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Montreal midfielder Samuel Piette achieved a milestone on Wednesday, reaching the 10,000 minutes played mark in league play, becoming the fourth player in club history to get there, while Kei Kamara has now scored a goal against 25 different MLS opponents, with his latest being Nashville, which is tied for the most different teams scored against in the history of Major League Soccer.
Tomas Giraldo continues to miss time with a hamstring problem, Bjorn Johnsen has a foot issue and Mason Toye remains out with an adductor injury.
Djordje Mihailovic had his MLS point streak snapped at three games earlier this week, though he does have a goal involvement in three straight home fixtures, while Joaquin Torres has tallied in back-to-back games played at Saputo Stadium.
Last week RSL signed defender Andrew Brody to a contract extension, keeping him in Utah until 2024, and he proved his worth immediately by scoring the winner on Saturday against Austin, with Maikel Chang tallying the equaliser.
Scott Caldwell will miss their upcoming match due to a yellow card suspension, while several players are out through injury, including Zack Farnsworth (right ankle), Bret Halsey (ankle), Erik Holt (left foot), Jonathan Menendez (adductor) and Damir Kreilach (back).
Pablo Ruiz missed their victory against the Verde and Black due to yellow card accumulation, while Justin Meram moved into a tie for most assists on the team, notching his second of the year in that match, while Anderson Julio collected his first.
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Breza; Miller, Camacho, Brault-Guillard; Lappalainen, Piette, Wanyama, Johnston; Mihailovic, Torres; Quioto
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Herrera, Glad, Silva, Brody; Chang, Besler, Ruiz; Rubin, Julio; Wood
We say: CF Montreal 2-0 Real Salt Lake
Despite their defeat in midweek, Montreal still did a lot of things well, and we expect them to return to form at home, where they have been incredibly potent in the final third, the opposite of RSL, who look uncomfortable and passive on the road.
For additional data used by our team to analyse our suggested result please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
