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Montreal Impact
Major League Soccer
Apr 16, 2023 at 12.30am UK
Stade Saputo
DC United

Montreal
0 - 1
DC United


Hamdy (25'), Iliadis (40'), Waterman (45+4')
FT(HT: 0-0)
O'Brien (46')
Palsson (5'), O'Brien (60')

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

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Major League Soccer clash between CF Montreal and DC United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

CF Montreal are back home after a disappointing road trip, as they play their first match of the season at Saputo Stadium on Saturday versus DC United.

Last weekend, Montreal suffered their second successive lopsided defeat of the Major League Soccer campaign, falling 4-0 to the New England Revolution, while the Black and Red extended its winless run to six games, dropping a 2-0 decision at the Columbus Crew.


Match preview

CF Montreal head coach Hernan Losada looks on during the second half on April 9, 2023© Reuters

Just when you thought things could not get any worse for Le CFM, it was another dismal showing for the Canadian outfit a week ago, losing a fifth away match of the year.

A season on from their best-ever MLS regular season, we knew there would be pressure on this team to maintain their status as cup contenders, but their intensity and level of play have taken a considerable downfall to this point of the campaign.

With a mere three points in their opening six matches, Montreal are bottom of the Eastern Conference, and Hernan Losada is on the hot seat as his side have been a step behind their opponents in most of their outings thus far, conceding a league-high 16 goals, while scoring in only one match all year.

As bad as it looks for them at the moment, they will have plenty of opportunities to reverse their fortunes in the coming weeks, as four of the next five league fixtures for Le CFM take place at Saputo Stadium, where they earned points in their final three regular-season encounters of 2022.

In addition to that, their remaining matches this month are all against teams currently on the outside of the playoff picture (DC United, the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City), so if Losada wants to rescue himself from an early sacking, his side need to start collecting points and show signs of life.

In the past seven regular season campaigns, Montreal have suffered just one defeat at home to DC United, conceding only once against them at Saputo Stadium since 2019.

DC United head coach Wayne Rooney on April 2, 2023© Reuters

Another side in decline at the moment would be DC United, though their situation is a little different as they continue to try to rebuild under Wayne Rooney.

That process began promisingly with an opening victory at home to Toronto, but they have gone backwards since then, failing to score in consecutive contests, with just five points after seven games, their lowest tally to this stage of a regular season since 2018 (five).

Consistently playing from behind is not a great recipe for success, but that is the scenario the Black and Red have found themselves in time and again this season, leading for fewer than 20 minutes since winning its debut encounter this year.

In 2022, they failed to find the back of the net in 10 away encounters, and that form has not improved much this year, with DC scoring in only one of their three road contests to date. However, if they can keep Montreal at bay this weekend, it would be their second clean sheet away from home on the season, equalling their mark from the previous campaign.

Three of their next four matches in this competition will be on the road, all versus Eastern Conference opponents, two of which (Montreal and Charlotte) are below them in the standings, and as bad as it looks right now, they are just three points out of a wildcard berth.

Rooney has attempted to push his fullbacks up the field more and create numerical advantages out wide, though his side have had difficulty coming up with an end product while also struggling to break up their opponents' transition moments.

CF Montreal Major League Soccer form:

DC United Major League Soccer form:


Team News

Rudy Camacho in action for CF Montreal on September 17, 2022© Reuters

Montreal will be without Mason Toye for six to eight weeks because of a knee injury, captain Samuel Piette is out for that same amount of time with a left leg strain, Lassi Lappalainen missed the previous match for the same reason, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint has a sore right leg, Jojea Kwizera is recovering from a pulled hamstring, James Pantemis remains sidelined because of a shoulder injury, Matko Miljevic will be doubtful due to a problem in his knee and George Campbell might not be fully recovered from his sprained ankle.

The club made a trade this week, sending defender Kamal Miller and $1.3m (£1m) in General Allocation Money (GAM) to Inter Miami in exchange for Bryce Duke and Ariel Lassiter.

Rudy Camacho is eligible to return from his red card suspension, while Mathieu Choiniere featured in his 80th regular season game last Saturday and also made his 50th career start, becoming the MLS leader in matches played for a home-grown player.

Chris Durkin, Derrick Williams and Brendan Hines-Ike will all be questionable for DC this weekend due to foot issues, Nigel Robertha continues to recover from an illness, Andy Najar is dealing with tightness in his thigh and Martin Rodriguez will not be available because of a knee injury.

Lewis O'Brien made his Black and Red debut in their defeat versus the Crew, leading the team with five interceptions, top goalscorer Christian Benteke won 11 duels in that contest, more than any DC player, while also registering four shots inside the box, and Pedro Santos returned to the starting lineup for the first time since their March encounter with Orlando City.

Donovan Pines, who led them in clearances with four, scored an own goal in their previous outing at Montreal last season when they were beaten 1-0.

CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Sirois; Waterman, Camacho, Corbo; Herrera, Duke, Wanyama, Iliadis; Ibrahim; Quioto, Offor

DC United possible starting lineup:
Miller; Ruan, Birnbaum, Pines, Jeahze; Santos, Canouse, Morrison, Klich; Fountas, Benteke


SM words green background

We say: CF Montreal 2-1 DC United

Saturday will be the first time Losada faces DC United since being sacked by them in the early portion of last season, and we expect his current side to be extra motivated to deliver him a victory, while their midweek trade should serve as a wake-up call to these veterans to pick up their game.

DC still have not figured out how to create chances, which is unfortunate because Benteke has been a solid attacking presence, but without a midfield general to give him balls in good shooting positions, the Belgian's quality has gone to waste.

How to watch

You can watch CF Montreal vs. DC United and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.

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

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data


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Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami34228479493074
2Columbus Crew34199672403266
3FC CincinnatiCincinnati341851158481059
4Orlando City34157125950952
5Charlotte FCCharlotte FC34149114637951
6New York City FCNY City34148125449550
7New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls34111495550547
8CF MontrealMontreal341110134864-1643
9Atlanta UnitedAtlanta341010144649-340
10DC United341010145270-1840
11Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia34910156255737
12Toronto34114194061-2137
13Nashville SCNashville3499163854-1636
14New England RevolutionNew England3494213774-3731
15Chicago Fire3479184062-2230

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Los Angeles FCLos Angeles34197863432064
2Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy34197869501964
3Real Salt LakeSalt Lake341611765481759
4Seattle SoundersSeattle34169951351657
5Houston DynamoHouston34159104739854
6Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd34157125849952
7Colorado RapidsColorado34155146160150
8Portland TimbersPortland341211116556947
9Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver34138135249347
10Austin FCAustin34119143948-942
11Dallas34118155456-241
12St Louis City34813135063-1337
13Sporting Kansas CityKansas3487195166-1531
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes3463254178-3721


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