Montrealvs.Orlando City

Last weekend, in their opening 2024 home fixture, Le CFM came away with an impressive 2-1 win over FC Cincinnati, while the Lions came from behind to pull off a dramatic 3-2 triumph against DC United.

Match preview

After an exhausting six-game road trip to begin the 2024 campaign, Montreal looked much more refreshed in their home opener, ending a three-match losing run in this competition.

Last week we saw the Montreal team that many had expected when Laurent Courtois took charge, stringing together plenty of passing sequences and forcing their opponents to chase the game.

It was a statement result for this club, defeating one of the elite teams in MLS and increasing their regular season unbeaten run at Saputo Stadium to five matches.

All of their domestic victories this season have occurred when they have scored in the opening 45 minutes, suffering just one defeat in 2024 when doing so (4-3 versus the Chicago Fire).

While they have been relatively sharp at Saputo Stadium, they have yet to win consecutive matches played there in MLS since July-August 2023 (two).

The last three times they have hosted the Lions in all competitions, Le CFM have emerged victorious, outscoring them by an 8-1 margin over that stretch.

They have had their share of setbacks throughout the campaign, but to their credit, Orlando City have reacted much better when falling behind in recent outings.

Oscar Pareja has seen his side claim four points in their last two games, despite trailing at the interval, after going winless in their opening four league contests of 2024.

Orlando did not score in three of their opening four matches in this competition, but they enter this contest with six goals in their previous three MLS affairs, collecting seven points along the way.

That has them within two points of Montreal for a playoff spot, with the Lions currently on eight points, three fewer than they had after seven matches last season.

Inconsistent defensive play can be attributed to their struggles so far this year, with Orlando currently tied for the second-most goals conceded in the Eastern Conference (13) after allowing the second-fewest in the conference in 2023.

The Lions have not beaten Le CFM at Saputo Stadium since the 2021 season (2-0) but have points in their last two domestic meetings against them, failing to concede in either of those outings.

CF Montreal Major League Soccer form:

W

W

L

L

L

W

Orlando City Major League Soccer form:

L

L

L

W

D

W

Orlando City form (all competitions):

L

L

L

W

D

W

Team News

Jules-Anthony Vilsaint remains unavailable for Montreal because of a knee injury, Kwadwo Opoku is dealing with an ankle ligament tear, Matias Coccaro sustained a knock last week and was taken off before the half-hour mark, while Dominik Yankov sat out with a hamstring issue.

Nathan-Dylan Saliba is eligible to return after missing their match versus Cincinnati through suspension, while Lassi Lappalainen featured despite previously sustaining a groin issue, replacing Bryce Duke with five minutes remaining.

Josef Martinez replaced Coccaro last week, scoring the opening goal in the late stages of the first-half, while Ariel Lassiter netted the winner, his first of the 2024 campaign.

Ramiro Enrique did not feature for Orlando City last weekend, as the Argentine is still dealing with an ankle issue, which he sustained in training.

Robin Jansson surpassed 15,000 minutes played all-time for the Lions against DC, while Pareja brought in four newcomers to the starting 11, including Cesar Araujo, David Brekalo, Wilder Cartagena and Martin Ojeda.

Dan Thorhallsson scored for the first time in the new campaign a week ago, while Brekalo netted his first as a Lion and Duncan McGuire put home his fifth career game-winning goal in MLS.

CF Montreal possible starting lineup:

Sirois; Campbell, Waterman, Sosa; Ruan, Choiniere, Piette, Edwards, Duke, Martinez, Lassiter

Orlando City possible starting lineup:

Gallese; Thorhallsson, Brekalo, Jansson, Smith; Araujo, Martins; Lodeiro, Torres, Angulo; Muriel

We say: CF Montreal 1-1 Orlando City

Both sides have experienced their share of hardships to this stage of the season, though they have each been relatively resilient at the same time.

That resilience has us leaning towards a draw for these two teams, who are usually fairly resolute at the back despite what many of their results this year may indicate.

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