Montreal travels to American capital for key showdown
Montreal will play its third game in eight days on Sunday, when it travels to Washington to take on D.C. United at 8pm at Audi Field.
This will be the second meeting between these two sides this year, after two fought to a scoreless draw at DRV PNK Stadium, Montreal’s temporary home to start the season.
After 17 games played apiece, there isn’t much to split these two sides halfway through the season. Montreal, in eighth and right outside of a playoff spot, trails D.C. United, in sixth, by just a point in the standings. Both teams share similar offensive and defensive stats as well, and both are run by first-time MLS head coaches in Wilfried Nancy and Hernan Losada.
“This is a team that plays to its qualities and that has been very impressive,” said head coach Wilfried Nancy. They don’t need to have possession for a long time to score goals. They’re very good at counterattacking. It’s up to us to manage those moments. We need to stay focused on the ball, but we also need to be able to counter their counterattacks.”
The Washington side has managed to string a few solid performances together in the past few weeks, going unbeaten through four games, including a 4-2 offensive outburst against the Columbus Crew SC in their last game. Montreal, on its end, is coming off a 2-2 tie against Atlanta United in just its second game at Stade Saputo since the start of the season and will look for a positive result on the road after going winless in its last four games.
Things are a little complicated from a roster perspective for head coach Wilfried Nancy and his staff. Defender Rudy Camacho and midfielder Victor Wanyama, two regulars in Nancy’s 11, both received a red card in the Club’s last game and will be serving a one-game suspension, while centre-back Aljaz Struna will serve a one-game suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.
“We’re still studying what the best options are,” added Nancy. There are a lot of different options. I’m looking at the different profiles at my disposal and at D.C. United’s aggressive style of play. I’m confident with the team I am going to field but I’m still weighing options to find the best solution.”
Montreal will only be back in action the following Saturday at Stade Saputo to host the New York Red Bulls at 7:30pm. You can now purchase tickets for all our remaining home games in 2021 here.
