Provisional first place in the CPL table will be up for grabs on Saturday afternoon when league-leading Forge visit Cavalry FC for the first time in 2026.

The third meeting of 2026 between brothers Ben and Harry Paton will pit the two squads against one another in what will be the 40th all-time instalment of the legendary rivalry between the two clubs.

Both Hamilton-based matches in the season series were played earlier in the year, with Forge winning the most recent meeting 1-0 and the earlier match ending in a scoreless draw. The visitors also hold a slight all-time edge between the two clubs, sporting 16 wins to Cavalry's 12, with an additional 11 matches ending in draws.

Despite the all-time edge, Forge have not been able to earn an away victory at ATCO Field since the 2023 playoffs, when they managed a 2-1 result. Since then, Cavalry have three wins, two draws, and zero losses at home to the Hammers, along with a +5 goal differential.

Cavalry enter Saturday's contest second in the CPL with a 10-4-2 record. They most recently played to a 1-1 away draw against Supra thanks to a late goal by Caniggia Elva. A rotating cast of new faces across the pitch has highlighted the latest stretch of action from Cavalry. Debut performances from the likes of Joe Holliday, James McGlinchey, and Owen Antoniuk have allowed Cavalry a degree of roster rotation as minutes pile up and availability issues arise.

Forge will look to get back into the win column and re-establish their grip on top spot in the standings. Recent weeks have seen the Ontarian side draw against the Wanderers and suffer a rare home loss to Vancouver FC. Despite being held scoreless in their last three matches and seldom managing an appearance longer than 60 minutes, Brian Wright leads the Hammers in scoring with four goals. Goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud leads the CPL with eight clean sheets through 14 games, putting him on pace to surpass Jassem Koleilat's single-season record of 13, set last season.

Availability

Cavalry were without Daan Klomp and Goteh Ntignee in their last match against Supra. Klomp was left in Calgary to continue his recovery from lingering issues, while Ntignee has been absent for the last three matches for the home side. Eryk Kobza will be unavailable for this weekend's match after receiving a suspension for yellow card accumulation.

Forge's depth was on full display last week against Vancouver, with several typical starters stepping into replacement roles. Anthony Aromatario was the only typical starter to not see any minutes after leaving the previous match prematurely. The 23-year-old was available from the bench but was not introduced into action. Mo Babouli has also been away from the club for all but 16 minutes against the Wanderers at the start of the month.

Projected XIs

Cavalry FC (4-4-2): Nathan Ingham; Bradley Kamdem Fewo, Daan Klomp, Amer Didic, Adam Pearlman; Owen Antoniuk, Harry Paton, Sergio Camargo, Ali Musse; Tobias Warschewski, Nathaniel Edwards

Forge FC (4-3-3): Dimitry Bertaud; Marko Jevremovic, Antoine Batisse, Dan Nimick, Rezart Rama; Ben Paton, Anthony Aromatario, Tristan Borges; Hoce Massunda, Brian Wright, Nana Ampomah

Game information and how to watch

📆 Saturday, August 15, 2026
⏰ 5:00 pm ET / 3:00 pm MT
📺 OneSoccer, TSN
🧑‍⚖️ Robert D'Alesio
🏟 ATCO Field, Calgary, Canada