As the Montreal Impact looks to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, the club faces its toughest test in its four remaining games of the 2012 season this Saturday at Stade Saputo versus Sporting Kansas City, at 1pm (ET).
HIGHLIGHTS: KC ease past NY
Unbeaten in seven
SKC, unbeaten in their last seven MLS matches -including a 2-0 win against the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night- is in first place in the Eastern Conference with 54 points and are just three points back of the San Jose Earthquakes in the Supporters’ Shield race with five games remaining in the regular season.
As a matter of fact, the last time SKC lost in all competitions was 10 games ago, a 2-1 loss to the Columbus Crew way back on July 28.
Stingy defence
SKC will be bringing a formidable defence to Montreal as the team has allowed just 25 goals in 29 MLS matches for a 0.86 goals against average - the best in MLS this season.
Goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen leads MLS with 16 victories and 11 shutouts this season, and the team has allowed the fewest shots against (278).
Midfield battle
A key to the game will be the offensive battle in midfield as American midfielder Graham Zusi, who leads the league in assists with 14, will try to outshine Brazilian counterpart Felipe, whose 10 assists is tops for the Impact and has him sitting in fourth spot in MLS.
24 under 24: Felipe
Another interesting fact, Sporting KC is unbeaten in its last nine regular season games when midfielder Roger Espinoza was in the starting lineup. For the Impact, five of its last seven victories have come when midfielder Patrice Bernier scored at least one point in the game. Of the team’s 12 wins, Bernier has played in 10 of them and earned points in eight.
Head-to-head
The Impact has beaten SKC once already this year, a 2-0 victory at LIVESTRONG Park back on May 5, but lost at home 3-1 on July 4. This time around, the home team must absolutely take advantage of home field in order to gain some momentum down the home stretch.
The Impact announced Monday that less than 1,000 tickets are available for that game. Individual tickets remaining for this game are available by calling 514-328-3668. It is also possible to renew your season tickets for 2013 by contacting the club before October 19, 2012 at 514-328-3668 or to put your name on the priority list by visiting impactmontreal.com.
