Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Preview: CF Montreal vs. New England Revolution - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 24 August 2023, 19:09
CF Montreal can maintain their narrow advantage in the Eastern Conference playoff picture when they host the New England Revolution on Saturday at Saputo Stadium in their first MLS home fixture since mid-July.

Le CFM won their first match back from the Leagues Cup break, 3-2 at Toronto, while the Revs will play their first domestic fixture this weekend since a 4-0 victory over DC United last month.

Match preview

For a side that had not played a competitive match in nearly a month, Montreal looked pretty sharp in Toronto last Sunday, up 2-0 before the game was 30 minutes old and winning for only the second time away from home on the current MLS campaign.

That 3-2 victory last weekend was only the fourth time all season that both Montreal and their opponents had found the back of the net at least once, with Le CFM being shut out eight times on the road in 2023, seven of those games resulting in a defeat for the Canadians.

Three of their subsequent four domestic encounters will take place at Saputo Stadium, where their form has dipped a little in recent memory, losing two of their previous three matches played there, after winning six in a row, failing to concede once in all of those triumphs.

Hernan Losada's men have lost three of their last four home games against New England in all competitions but came away with a convincing 4-0 victory when they last faced them at Saputo Stadium in 2022.

They have only given up one goal in the opening half at Saputo Stadium over this domestic campaign but have not scored in the final 45 minutes at home in this competition since netting twice in a 4-0 triumph over Minnesota United last June.

To this point of the 2023 MLS season, Le CFM are undefeated when netting multiple times in a single game, winning in all but one of those encounters this year (2-2 draw at DC United).

After a nearly three-week hiatus from their previous competitive fixture, the Revs return to the field in search of a third successive MLS victory.

Bruce Arena's side are winless in their last six MLS away contests since a 2-0 triumph at Toronto in May, though they have points in seven of 11 league fixtures this year outside of Gillette Stadium.

That victory in Toronto earlier this year ended a winless run of three matches for the Revs on the road versus Canadian opponents in the regular-season, with their previous such triumph before this year coming at Saputo Stadium in September 2021 (4-1).

New England have 11 matches still to play in the 2023 regular season in what has been a solid bounce-back campaign for them, currently second in the Eastern Conference with 43 points, a 13-point improvement from where they were at this same stage a year ago.

Five more victories will assure their place in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs, while a win on Saturday versus Montreal could make the race for first in the Eastern Conference a lot more interesting, with the Revs currently trailing FC Cincinnati by eight points but with a game in hand.

Aside from their massive improvement in points from a season ago, this edition of the Revolution have been a lot tidier defensively than we have seen in past campaigns, currently tied with Cincy for the third-fewest goals conceded in the Eastern Conference this year (28).

CF Montreal Major League Soccer form:

D

L

L

L

W

W

CF Montreal form (all competitions):

New England Revolution Major League Soccer form:

W

W

D

L

W

W

New England Revolution form (all competitions):

Advert - content below:

Team News

Romell Quioto missed another match for Montreal last weekend because of a hamstring injury, while Jules-Anthony Vilsaint made his first start of the season for Le CFM, playing alongside Kwadwo Opoku in the attack.

A brace from Mathieu Choiniere, along with an own-goal courtesy of Aime Mabika, helped propel them to a victory over Toronto in a match where five players from Quebec featured in the starting 11, including Choiniere, Vilsaint, Jonathan Sirois, Samuel Piette and Nathan Saliba.

Opoku and Chinonso Offor found the back of the net in their last MLS home fixture when they defeated Charlotte FC 2-0, as they did not allow a single shot on target to the visitors.

Tommy McNamara was on the bench when the Revs were eliminated from the Leagues Cup on penalties versus Queretaro in the last 16, Maciel is still dealing with a left Achilles issue, Henry Kessler has a sore right hamstring, Nacho Gil will likely miss another encounter with a right leg injury and Dylan Borrero is out for the season after undergoing left knee surgery.

It appears as though the Revs may be losing Djordje Petrovic very soon, with reports this week that Chelsea have agreed to purchase the Serbian goalkeeper for £12.5 million, plus a further £1.5 million in performance-related add-ons, which if true could mean Earl Edwards Jr. or Jacob Jackson might start this weekend, while there are rumours that the club is close to signing Tomas Vaclik, who before July was with Huddersfield Town in the Championship.

It has been well over a month since this team last played an MLS fixture when a brace from Ian Harkes, a Gustavo Bou strike and an own-goal by Brendan Hines-Ike gave them a comfortable four-goal triumph over DC United.

CF Montreal possible starting lineup:

Sirois; Corbo, Waterman, Campbell; Herrera, Piette, Wanyama, Choiniere; Duke; Lassiter, Opoku

New England Revolution possible starting lineup:

Edwards; Bye, Farrell, Romney, Sweat; Harkes, Polster; Bou, C. Gil, Boateng; Vrioni

We say: CF Montreal 1-0 New England Revolution

Having such a lengthy layoff could be a detriment to New England this weekend, especially against a side like Montreal, who need results at this stage of the campaign a lot more than the Revs.

How to watch

You can watch CF Montreal vs. New England Revolution and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Previews by email

Top News

14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England moved to the top of their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League group on Thursday evening courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Greece. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Didier Deschamps was left frustrated on Thursday as his France side failed to capitalise on their dominance against Israel, being held to a 0-0 draw, though they still progressed to the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals after Italy beat Belgium in the other League A Group 2 fixture. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England have risen to the top of Group 2 of League B in the UEFA Nations League courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Greece in Athens on Thursday night. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sandro Tonali's first international goal was enough to send Italy through to the finals of the UEFA Nations League courtesy of a 1-0 win away in Belgium this evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea Women and Manchester City Women will go head-to-head in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash at Stamford Bridge. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Pep Guardiola has asked Manchester City to sign two defenders in 2025, according to a report. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Al-Nassr centre-back Aymeric Laporte has said that he is open to making the move to Real Madrid. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona sporting director Deco has said that his club are not planning to be active during the January transfer window. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Moldova can boost their hopes of securing promotion from League D Group 2 in the UEFA Nations League when they face fellow European minnows Andorra at Estadi Nacional on Saturday. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Montenegro welcome Iceland to Stadion Kraj Bistrice in Niksic for their penultimate League B Group 4 fixture in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal Women and Tottenham Hotspur Women will be looking to secure derby bragging rights when they face off in Saturday's Women's Super League clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Nacho has ruled out the possibility of returning to Real Madrid amid suggestions that Los Blancos were considering making an attempt to re-sign him during the January transfer window. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams with contrasting objectives in the National League are set to meet at the Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday, as promotion hopefuls Gateshead host relegation-threatened Aldershot Town. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ruben Amorim will reportedly take Manchester United training for the first time on Monday, with the club confident that his visa will have arrived in time for him to officially get on the grass next week. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has said that a back issue forced Lisandro Martinez to pull out of the squad for the national team's upcoming 2026 World Cup qualification matches with Paraguay and Peru. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has reportedly set his sights on an exit from the club next summer, and plans to take key man Alex Grimaldo with him. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Locked together at the top of League C Group 1 with two games to play, Sweden and Slovakia will battle it out to take the outright lead when they meet on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal will reportedly allow out-of-favour defender Jakub Kiwior to leave the club on loan in January. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Wales travel to the Kadir Has Stadium in Kayseri to face Turkey in their penultimate League B Group 4 fixture in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona midfielder Pablo Torre has not ruled out the possibility of leaving the club in January, after seeing his game time reduced recently. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to narrow their gap to the top two in the League One table with a third consecutive victory, Barnsley will visit the Abbey Stadium to take on Cambridge United on Saturday. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alexander Isak has delivered a fresh update on his future at Newcastle United, amid reported interest from a number of clubs including Arsenal. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United Women will attempt to claim back-to-back victories when they travel to the Broadfield Stadium for Saturday's Women's Super League meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion Women. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Roma have confirmed the appointment of 73-year-old Claudio Ranieri as their new first-team manager until the end of the season. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon has revealed that he was "desperate" to join Chelsea in 2022. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal could rival Manchester City and Liverpool for the signature of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly weighing up whether to make a move for in-form PSV Eindhoven striker Ricardo Pepi. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk As exquisite as Pedro Neto's equaliser was, the Portuguese's 20-yard leveller for Chelsea in Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw with Arsenal was arguably more to do with the Gunners' uncharacteristic defensive failings. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly made a decision over whether they will pursue a move for Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Estevao Willian has revealed that he will continue with his education even after completing a big-money transfer to Chelsea.