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MONTREAL – For the only time this season, the Montreal Impact hosts five-time MLS Cup winner LA Galaxy, this Saturday at 8pm EDT at Stade Saputo. This game presented by Tim Hortons will be broadcast live on RDS (pregame show at 7:30pm), 98,5fm (pregame show at 7pm) and TSN Radio 690 (pregame show at 7pm).
The game had been rescheduled from Sunday, May 29. All tickets dated May 29 for this game will be valid at all Stade Saputo entrances on Saturday.
“We’re facing one of the better teams in the league,” said head coach Mauro Biello. “They have a lot of good, experienced players. We’ll be without certain players, so this will be an opportunity for others to show that they can take on the best that this league has to offer. We have to be ready to push to be successful.”
Tickets for Stade Saputo’s most affordable seats are still available on impactmontreal.com or at the Stade Saputo ticket office, on game day. The club recommends that supporters without a ticket arrive early if they want to buy tickets on site. Please note as well that, given that new security measures have been implemented at all stadium entrances, supporters are encouraged to arrive at their earliest convenience. Doors open at 6:30pm.
CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE GAME PROGRAM
The club recommends that you get to Stade Saputo early and that you use public transit. Pie-IX Blvd. will be partially closed in the northbound direction, from Pierre-de-Coubertin Ave. to Mont-Royal Ave., until May 31. Traffic disruptions are also scheduled on Pierre-de-Coubertin Ave., between Jeanne-d’Arc Ave. and Pie-IX Blvd., until early June.
A first against LA?
The Impact (4-4-4, 12 pts) will shoot for a first-ever win against the Galaxy this Saturday. Montreal’s record against LA stands at 0-1-3; the last two games between these teams were ties. Should it defeat the Galaxy, the Impact would claim a 40th home win in MLS.
The Bleu-blanc-noir will miss key defensive pieces. Centre back Laurent Ciman, who has played every minute of every Impact game this season, is currently with the Belgium national team on a pre-Euro 2016 camp. Full back Ambroise Oyongo, for his part, has joined Cameroon for two games. Their full back colleague Donny Toia, meanwhile, is dealing with a hamstring injury.
Costa Rica has also called up midfielder Johan Venegas for Copa América Centenario, from June 3 to 26.
“This is a really big game against a Galaxy team with some great players,” said Ignacio Piatti, who has tallied one goal and one assist in two career games against the Galaxy. “We must be ready. We’ll miss certain players, but the coach has done some good work on the defensive side. This will be a team effort.”
Canadian midfielder Kyle Bekker could make a 50th MLS appearance this Saturday. Team captain Patrice Bernier could reach 14,000 career minutes played for the Impact – in all divisions –, should he play 50 minutes on the weekend.
Galaxy remains full of stars
True to form, the LA Galaxy (5-1-5, 20 pts) can once again count on several world-renowned players. Last winter, Belgium international Jelle Van Damme, former English international Ashley Cole and Netherlands international Nigel de Jong all joined the likes of Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and Giovani dos Santos in LA.
Impact forward Didier Drogba was a teammate of Cole’s at Chelsea, from 2006 to 2012, and regularly faced Gerrard (Liverpool), Keane (Tottenham, Liverpool & West Ham) and de Jong (Manchester City) in the Premier League.
“Playing against Steven Gerrard has always been a big challenge,” said Didier Drogba. “I’ll catch up with Nigel de Jong and Ashley Cole, my former teammate with whom we won so many trophies. This will be a good challenge. We’ll have to be focused and methodical, and we need a big performance and result this Saturday.”
While the Galaxy can boast a clean bill of health these days, head coach Bruce Arena will have to make do without Keane and his strike partner Gyasi Zardes, called up by the Republic of Ireland and the United States, respectively. Midfielder Baggio Husidic, called up by Bosnia and Herzegovina, could yet be available this Saturday.
Upcoming games
The Galaxy will be the Impact’s last MLS opponent before Saturday, June 18, against Columbus Crew SC at MAPFRE Stadium. In the meantime, the Impact will play its two-legged Amway Canadian Championship semifinal against rivals Toronto FC, starting with the away leg at BMO Field on Wednesday, June 1, at 7:30pm (RDS, TSN, 98,5fm & TSN Radio 690).
The series will conclude with the home leg at Stade Saputo on Wednesday, June 8, at 7:30pm (RDS, TSN, 98,5fm & CJAD.com). Excellent individual tickets are still available on impactmontreal.com.
