MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact will look to expand on its club record-tying unbeaten streak of five games as it hosts D.C. United this Saturday, at 5pm, at Stade Saputo (RDS, TSN2, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690), in front of what is expected to be a fourth sellout crowd over its last five home games.
“Our approach to this game doesn’t change,” said Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “The mindset and the concentration remains the same. We’ve played a lot of games, so we have to manage the roster, but for us, the key will be to continue to play the way we’ve been playing and get a good result.”
“We knew this week was going to be important and we put ourselves in position to take all nine points available to us at home,” explained defender Wandrille Lefèvre. “This team has a lot of depth and that has allowed us to go undefeated over this busy stretch, using different players and different formations. We will be ready to leave it all on the field this Saturday.”
The last time D.C. came to Montreal back on August 8, IMFC completely dominated the match, but was unable to find a goal in a 1-0 loss.
“They are a really experienced team that has a lot of skill and talent offensively with guys like Espindola, Kitchen, Saborio and Arnaud,” explained midfielder Patrice Bernier. “They are a team that plays well as a group and the last time they were here, they closed down defensively and escaped with the three points.”
The Impact will be without Laurent Ciman and Andrés Romero for Saturday’s matchup, due to an ejection and yellow card accumulation respectively, but Marco Donadel will be available for selection after serving his one-game suspension on Wednesday night.
The Impact has an all-time record of 2-5-3 versus D.C. United, going 2-2-1 at home. The red and black have 45 points from a record of 13-11-6 and are currently in fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Impact is six points back of D.C. but has two games in hand.
While the Bleu-blanc-noir’s current run of form includes a midweek victory over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, the red and black has struggled of late, winning just once in its last five, including a midweek draw in Champions League group play versus Jamaican side Montego Bay.
Forward Chris Rolfe leads D.C. United in scoring with 10 goals and just signed a contract extension to remain in the U.S. capital, while Fabian Espindola is the assists leader with six in just 13 games played.
Following that crucial game, the Impact will embark on a series of four games on the road, starting next Saturday against Orlando City SC at 7:30pm at the Citrus Bowl (TVA Sports, CJAD 800).
