Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC | 2020 MLS Match Preview

2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 8
Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC
Stade Saputo – Montreal
August 28 – 8:00 PM ET

TV: TSN, TVA Sports

STREAMING: MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US

For the second time this year, and first time on Canadian soil and in front of fans, the latest chapter of the Canadian Classique featuring the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC will be played at Stade Saputo Friday night.

The Impact had a successful restart to their season, handing the Vancouver Whitecaps a 2-0 defeat at home Tuesday night. Toronto FC picked up back-to-back wins at BMO Field over the 'Caps as well.

The first meeting between the rivals was played at the MLS is Back Tournament, a seven-goal thriller won by Toronto FC, which was buoyed by an Ayo Akinola hat trick.

Montreal Impact

Romell Quioto opened the scoring in the 18th minute and Lassi Lappalainen doubled the advantage five minutes before halftime. Clement Diop added a penalty kick save in the second half and the COVID-19-restricted crowd of 250 left Stade Saputo with a smile on their face following a 2-0 win over the Whitecaps Tuesday. The Impact became the first professional sports team in Canada to host fans at a sporting event since the start of the pandemic.

Thierry Henry's tinkering continued, going with a 3-4-2-1 with Quioto playing as the lone striker. It's a spot Henry thinks Quioto, who was exclusively used on the left wing during his time with the Houston Dynamo, could thrive as the No. 9.

“Romell Quioto can play wherever he wants — on the left, on the right, in the middle, he will give you something,” Henry said. “He works hard in the game, as you saw, and now he’s loving the fact that he’s scoring goals. Once you taste that, when you have that taste in your mouth, you don’t want to lose it."

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Steeven Saba (M) - left foot injury
- OUT: Mathieu Choinière (M) - ankle injury
- OUT: Ballou Tabla (M) - adductor injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None

Toronto FC

While the Impact are enjoying consecutive regular season wins, Toronto FC have gone 17 games without defeat, 10 at the back end of last season as they charged toward the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and seven so far in 2020.

"Our group is pretty mature," coach Greg Vanney said after Toronto defeated the Whitecaps. "We‘ve got a bit of two factions on our team. We’ve got some really young guys who have come through, many of them through the academy, and some veteran guys who have played a lot of games and played a lot of games together. There’s a lot fo continuity in that group. A lot of things click into natural gear quickly.

"Guys were motivated to play coming out of the stoppage. They are motivated to come into the season and after getting to the final last year and not finishing it off.. There is a lot of motivation in our group to be successful again this year."