Montreal has won five of its last six games
NEW YORK, New York – On a four-game winning run and having won five of its last six meetings, the Montreal Impact now heads to the Bronx to face New York City FC at Yankee Stadium, this Wednesday night at 7pm (TVA Sports, TSN, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690).
“We’re in the middle of a series of seven games in 22 days,” said Impact head coach Rémi Garde. “We’ll certainly be needing everyone, while hoping that the rotations don’t affect each player’s level of investment, which is the most important thing for me. Now, we’re going to play against a very solid team. We’ll need to adapt to a smaller field, which favors duels quite a bit. We’ll need to adapt and not refuse contact, while being vigilant, because it’s a team that can alter its style of play. A very complicated game awaits us.”
The team of the moment
The Bleu-blanc-noir is without a doubt the most in-form team in the MLS at the moment, with 12 points accumulated in its last four games. Montreal has climbed back into the Eastern Conference’s top six teams, putting itself in good position to kick off a very busy month of July.
During this excellent sequence, Designated Player Nacho Piatti has also rediscovered his form: Montreal’s number 10 has scored four goals in his last four games, adding an assist as well. This season, Piatti already has nine goals, good for seventh in the league.
“New York City FC is a very good team,” said Piatti. “They already have eight wins at home and they haven’t lost yet. It’s a very difficult stadium to play in. On our end, we won’t change anything, we’re going there with our objective being to take points and continue our climb in the standings. The whole group is well and confident. It’s a really big game for us.”
Yankee Stadium, a fortress
NYCFC, led by Domènec Torrent since June 11 following Patrick Vieira’s departure for Nice, has a record of eight wins and one draw at home. Even more impressive is the fact that the Citizens have only allowed four goals at Yankee Stadium this year.
“It’s one more game in this big pool of games, so it doesn’t really matter what they’ve done so far,” said defender Jukka Raitala. “They won a big derby game this weekend, but I think if we continue on the same momentum we have now, while continuing to be strong as a team, I’m very confident we can get something out of this game.”
Rudy Camacho still unavailable
On Montreal’s end, defender Rudy Camacho will be once again unavailable due to a discomfort in his calf, while midfielder Jeisson Vargas could make his return. For NYCFC, David Villa, who suffered a blow to his knee, remains uncertain for Wednesday; same for defender Ronald Matarrita, out with a hamstring injury. Forward Jo Inge Berget should not be available for the hosts.
Upcoming games
The Impact will be back at Stade Saputo this Saturday, July 14, at 7:30pm, to host the San Jose Earthquakes during the fourth and last 25th anniversary thematic game, which will celebrate the club’s international connections (TICKETS – TVA Sports, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690). Montreal will then kick off its road to the Concacaf Champions League, with the first leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, at Stade Saputo on Wednesday, July 18 at 7:30pm (TICKETS).
