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Will the Montreal Impact play spoilers against Toronto FC?

Learn about the Montreal Impact who will play spoilers against Toronto FC. TFC are the best team in MLS and the team closest to the Canadian Championship.
Montreal Impact Toronto FC

Preview — The Montreal Impact will need to get a result on Tuesday. Otherwise, a Toronto FC win would probably mean a berth to the Canadian Championship Final.

Yes, Toronto would not qualify automatically for the Canadian Championship Final even with a win. However, the Impact would need to win their next three subsequent games if they lose to Toronto on Tuesday.

They would also need Toronto to lose their next two subsequent games after Tuesday, including one against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Lastly, Toronto would also need to have a worse goal differential than the Montreal Impact if the first two scenarios above happen. The chances of all of this happening at the same time are extremely low. This is why MLS fans should expect a tense and exciting match between these two Canadian Classique rivals.

Montreal Impact Motivated to Get a Result Against Toronto FC

Montreal Impact

The defending Voyageurs Cup champions, the Montreal Impact will need to get a result against Toronto FC. If not, they will be most likely not repeat as Voyageurs Cup champions. However, it is also important to note that two players were missing for the Impact on Friday. Samuel Piette and Saphir Taider were absent because their wives were giving birth. The motivation for the Montreal Impact may have also not been there on Friday.

https://twitter.com/KristianJack/status/1299536640453611520

With the recent shooting of Jacob Blake, the Black Lives Matter movement is as important as ever. It probably reduced the motivation of the Impact players as they did not want to play. However, this should not discredit the positive performance of Toronto FC. They were the better team and as a result, got a 1-0 result in Montreal on Friday.

Thierry Henry, head coach of the Montreal Impact, agrees with this sentiment.

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Piette is considered one of the best Canadian defenders in MLS. Furthermore, Taider has played a key role in the Impact’s offense. He, along with Maximiliano Urruti and Romell Quioto, are co-goal scorer leaders for the Impact with three goals each. Taider and Emanuel Maciel are co-leaders in assists for the Montreal Impact with two. Expect them to be back at BMO Field on Tuesday against Toronto FC.

Toronto FC

Toronto FC, the defending Eastern Conference champions, are now leading the Supporters’ Shield race. They have 18 points in eight games played. This includes winning five games and tying three. The Columbus Crew SC, TFC’s Trillium Cup rivals, are one point behind in the Eastern Conference. Sporting Kansas City, who are leading the Western Conference, currently have 16 points and are two points behind Toronto.

Dating back to last year, Toronto has the longest current regular season unbeaten run in MLS with 18 season games. Toronto will look to continue that streak on Tuesday.

More importantly, what is most impressive about Toronto FC recently is their ability to get clean sheets. This was a big problem for Toronto earlier in the MLS season. Examples of this can be seen with D.C. United and the San Jose Earthquakes.

Toronto has had five clean sheets in their last eight regular-season games. This is what Greg Vanney said about their recent performances before the Impact game on Friday.

“That’s four shutouts in seven games,” Vanney said after the latest blanking. “As I said to the guys, if we can keep doing that, then we’ll have a lot of good results.”

This skill showed itself again on Friday. Toronto FC was able to get another shutout against the Montreal Impact. Whenever a team does that, success will follow. This is especially true for Toronto FC, who have a lot of firepower in their offense.

Injuries/Absences

Unfortunately for Toronto FC, they will likely be missing at least three players for Tuesday. Ayo Akinola will not be playing with a hamstring injury. However, what might hurt Toronto a lot more are the injuries of Richie Laryea and Ifunanyachi Achara.

Achara is still injured with a torn knee ligament.

However, what might be concerning is the injury of Laryea. Laryea suffered a sprained ankle. As a result, he missed Friday’s game at Saputo Stadium (Stade Saputo). Laryea scored the game-winning goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Aug. 21.

Do not expect any of these three players to play on Tuesday at BMO Field. As a result, their two top goal scorers, Laryea and Akinola will not be in Tuesday’s game at BMO Field. Because of this, Toronto’s top goal scorers heading to Tuesday are Alejandro Pozuelo and Pablo Piatti with two goals each. Pozuelo leads MLS in assists with seven. This statistic alone proves Pozuelo’s playmaking ability, which makes other players around him better.

Lastly, there is still some uncertainty on the status of Toronto FC player Patrick Mullins. He pulled up with a hamstring injury against the Montreal Impact on Friday.

For the Impact, the only player missing will be Steeven Saba. He has been injured since May 20 with a fractured foot. Like the three Toronto players mentioned above, do not expect Saba to play for the Impact come Tuesday.

Toronto FC vs. Montreal Impact Preview Overview

Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact will resume their Canadian Classique or BMO Derby on Tuesday. Expect Jozy Altidore to be back as he did not play on Friday for personal reasons.

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Expect both teams to be motivated on Tuesday. The Montreal Impact are going to do everything possible to get a result against Toronto FC. A loss to Toronto would probably mean the Impact will not be able to defend their Voyageurs Cup.

While for Toronto FC, a win would probably mean a berth in the Canadian Championship Final. Yes, it would not be official, however, it would be impossible to overturn. The Impact then cannot drop points and Toronto would only need one more point or a better goal differential to make the Canadian Championship.

There is also extra motivation for the Impact to end the 18-game unbeaten streak of Toronto FC. TFC is the best team in MLS right now with 18 points.

It will also be important for the Impact to win against TFC in the MLS season. Right now they are seventh in the Eastern Conference with 10 points. This is the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. A win for the Impact would mean jumping past the New York Red Bulls and the New England Revolution for fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Where to Watch the Game and Possibly the Last Game at BMO Field

The game between these two Canadian teams will take place on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcasted on MLS Live on ESPN+. In Canada, the game will be broadcasted on TSN and TVA Sports.

There are very few MLS season games that will be as significant as the one on Tuesday. To add to the importance of the game is possibly playing the last game this year at BMO Field. This might be TFC’s last scheduled home game in 2020.

According to Christian A. Smith of hudsonriverblue.com, the Impact and TFC would play at Red Bull Arena. The home team, the New York Red Bulls and rivals New York City FC are currently playing their 2020 MLS season games at Red Bull Arena. This is because of Canada’s tight travel restrictions because of COVID-19.

It is also because it is unlikely that the Canadian MLS teams will travel to US markets and back to Canada. The Canadian federal government did not allow the Toronto Blue Jays, an MLB (Major League Baseball) team to play in Canada while traveling back and forth from and to other MLB markets in the U.S. It is fair to expect the Canadian federal government to have the same response for the three Canadian MLS teams.

 

 

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