After a two-week break, CF Montreal will return to MLS action on Saturday when they host Nashville SC for the first time at Saputo Stadium.
The team from Quebec are currently sitting in sixth in the Eastern Conference and are unbeaten this season on their home field, while the Black-and-Gold are fighting for second place with Orlando City, currently behind the Lions only on goal difference.
Match preview
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Slowly but surely, Wilfried Nancy has seen his side put themselves in a good position in the table, four points above the playoff line in the Eastern Conference and unbeaten in their last four fixtures.
By no means are they the most entertaining side to watch, but when you look at their tactical game and their attention to detail, you have to be impressed with what they have achieved so far.
While this is very much a team built on patience and taking their opportunities when they come, they have provided a few offensive outbursts, with their last one coming in a 3-2 win over Toronto in the Canadian Classique in La Belle Province.
The depth players for this squad have stepped up and provided some timely plays, which have helped earn them a lot more points than a year ago.
They might not have the flashiness or that one individual who can put on a show, but what they do have is a team that works as hard as any side in the league and can provide a lot of offence by committee, as evidenced by the fact that 13 different players have scored this year, but their leading goalscorer, Mason Toye, has only found the back of the net seven times.
Seven of their remaining 12 games are at Saputo Stadium, so you have to fancy their chances to make the postseason and also break their MLS regular-season record for points, which was 51 set back in 2015.
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After an impressive inaugural campaign in MLS in 2020, Nashville have put to bed any thoughts of a sophomore jinx in year two.
When you make the postseason in your first campaign, the expectations grow, and after 22 games this year, the Black-and-Gold have exceeded those expectations in a big way.
Gary Smith has gotten his tactics spot on as this team have become an offensive force, scoring the second-most goals in the league to this point (37), while also maintaining their strong defensive shape that made them so successful last season, allowing only 21 goals this year, second only to the Colorado Rapids.
Nashville have been rolling over their competition, putting three past New York City FC last week and hitting DC United with five strikes last month.
If there is any team at the moment who can contend with the powerhouse New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference, it seems to be Nashville, who have the firepower to match them and are a well-drilled side, who have not conceded a goal to the Revs this season.
As clinical as they have been in front of goal, they seem to be a little more passive going forward away from home, having been shut out in four road fixtures this year.
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Team News
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The Montreal depth players might have to step up for this one with several regulars just getting back from international duty and unlikely to be available as a result, including Mustafa Kizza, who represented Uganda, Kamal Miller, James Pantemis and Samuel Piette were all with the Canadian squad, Kiki Struna was called up to the Slovenia side and Romell Quioto was with Honduras.
Rudy Camacho will not be available due to a yellow card suspension, Robert Thorkelsson has an adductor strain, Lassi Lappalainen is nursing a groin injury and their leading goalscorer Mason Toye has a shoulder injury.
Joaquin Torres notched his third goal of the season in their last match, while Djordje Mihailovic appears to have found a home in Montreal, picking up his team-leading seventh assist two weeks ago.
Hany Mukhtar stole the show once again for the Black-and-Gold last week with a pair of goals while also being named the MLS Player of the Week, while CJ Sapong is putting together a nice campaign, collecting his fourth assist on Friday and Dax McCarty set up the opening goal from Mukhtar, his first assist of the season.
Nashville could be missing four key players who were representing their respective countries in the final stage of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying earlier this week, including Anibal Godoy (Panama), Alistair Johnston (Canada), Randall Leal (Costa Rica) and Walker Zimmerman (USA).
McCarty will be suspended following his red card late in the first half versus the Pigeons, while Joe Willis continues to be a wall in goal for this team, tied for the league lead in shutouts with William Yarbrough at nine.
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Breza; Struna, Waterman, Bassong; Brault-Guillard, Maciel, Wanyama, Choiniere, Torres; Mihailovic, Johnsen
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Miller, Nealis, Maher, Romney; Lovitz, Mukhtar, LaGrassa, Washington; Sapong, Cadiz
We say: CF Montreal 0-1 Nashville SC
With two teams who like to defend, we will probably be in for a cagey affair with these very patient sides, and even though both could be missing some key components to their team, Montreal would probably feel those losses worse especially if Piette is not available in midfield to slow down a quick attacking team like Nashville.
Top tip
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 CF Montreal win with a probability of 47.69%. A draw had a probability of 26.2% and a win for Nashville SC had a probability of 26.14%.
The most likely scoreline for a CF Montreal win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.14%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.16%) and 2-0 (8.97%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.4%), while for a Nashville SC win it was 0-1 (8.4%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 8.4% likelihood.
