Montreal Impact vs. Columbus Crew SC | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Montreal Impact vs. Columbus Crew SC
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 32
Stade Saputo — Montreal
October 6 - 3 pm ET
WATCH: TVAS, TSN 1/4, ESPN+

In an Eastern Conference showdown that could have major playoff implications, the Montreal Impact host Columbus Crew SC Saturday afternoon at Stade Saputo.

The Impact are currently in sixth place, just two points in front of D.C. United after losing at Audi Field, 5-0, on Saturday, while Crew SC, one point ahead of Philadelphia in fourth place, after playing the Union to a goalless draw at home Saturday.

This is the second meeting this season, with Columbus winning 3-2 back on March 10. Federico Higuain and Gyasi Zardes scored three minutes apart to give the Crew a 2-0 lead inside of 15 minutes. Ignacio Piatti and Raheem Edwards scored after halftime to level before Zardes netted the winner from the penalty spot in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Montreal Impact

Montreal (12-15-4) suffered a first loss in September, conceding four times after halftime in a 5-0 defeat at D.C. United on Saturday. It was the Impact’s most lopsided defeat of 2018.

Luciano Acosta scored the lone goal of the first half in the 17th minute and then Wayne Rooney and Paul Arriola each scored a second-half brace to pull D.C. United to within two points of the playoff line with a game in hand on the Impact.

“I hope we remember how bad it hurts, but know that we still have three more games,” forward Quincy Amarikwa said. “We’re ahead and we need to maintain our lead and make sure we make the playoffs”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: D - Chris Duvall
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: M - David Choiniere (ankle surgery), D - Kyle Fisher (quad injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Evan Bush — Bacary Sagna, Rod Fanni, Rudy Camacho, Daniel Lovitz — Michael Azira, Samuel Piette, Saphir Taider — Alejandro Silva, Quincy Amarikwa, Ignacio Piatti

Columbus Crew SC

Columbus (13-9-9) squandered a chance to create separation from fifth-place Philadelphia and put pressure on third-place New York City FC, playing the Union to a 0-0 draw at MAPFRE Stadium Saturday night.

In a match with few scoring chances, the Union thought they took the lead late in the first half on a Jonathan Mensah own goal, but it was disallowed after Video Review as a result of a Cory Burke foul on Lalas Abubakar on the buildup. Harrison Afful had a late chance, but Andre Blake made a stunning save to ensure both teams shared the points.

“There was a lot of space to transition, but we fell into the trap of transitioning too often,” Gregg Berhalter said. “And then we had too many unforced errors. We gave too many balls away that brought them back into the game, stretched the field, made the field too big.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Federico Higuain
International duty: None
Injury Report: None

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Zack Steffen — Harrison Afful, Jonathan Mensah, Lalas Abubakar, Milton Valenzuela — Artur, Wil Trapp — Pedro Santos, Federico Higuain, Justin Meram — Gyasi Zardes

All-Time Series

Overall: Montreal Impact 5 wins, 24 goals … Columbus Crew SC 9 wins, 29 goals … 3 draws
At Montreal: Impact 4 wins, 13 goals … Crew SC 2 wins, 7 goals … 1 draw
Last meeting at Montreal: Montreal Impact 2, Columbus Crew SC 3 (May 13, 2017)