After a weekend off thanks to the Leagues Cup, CF Montréal are back in action on Saturday, taking on a DC United side that's clinging to the ninth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as it stands.
The time off was not at all boring for the bleu-blanc-noir off the pitch, as the high-profile designated player signing of Chilean legend Alexis Sánchez has the streets of the city talking.
The Impact sit seven points and five spots back from that last playoff spot, so a win at Stade Saputo is paramount in order to have any hopes of making the postseason in 2026.
Last time out
These two sides played to a memorable 4-4 draw in the final weekend before the World Cup break, where second-half stoppage-time goals from Prince Owusu and Hennadiy Synchuk helped Montréal overcome a 4-2 deficit in improbable fashion at Audi Field.
That game seemed to give the Impact a bit of momentum and good vibes heading into the break, but those had dissipated after going goalless in their first three league games after the pause.
But another two-goal comeback to draw New England on Aug. 1, combined with the arrival of Sánchez, has the vibes high once again. Philippe Eullaffroy and his players will now need to turn those good vibes into wins on the pitch.
How Montréal enter the match
While the recent transfer news has brought some life back into this team, it's easy to forget the Impact are still winless in seven in MLS play, and face a big mountain to climb if they're to make the playoffs this season.
While the comeback against the Revolution was nice, a wonderstrike from Brayan Vera quickly followed by Owusu's equalizer can shut out what was otherwise a very poor home performance, where the visitors dominated in basically every statistical category, but couldn't find a winning touch.
Losing the xG battle 4.13-0.77 won't fetch you many points, and it's fair to say New England was able to find some gaps in Montréal's defensive setup.
The lack of scoring outside of Owusu continues to be an issue offensively, and while Sánchez should help out on that front, he's still a couple of weeks away from being available, and Montréal need points right now.
The schedule softens up a bit now after playing all of the top three teams in the conference in succession, and the Impact must start to put together some good results, starting this weekend.
How DC United enter the match
United are five games unbeaten heading into this one, though four of those have been draws. They've taken a step out of the basement this season under manager René Weiler, but are far from a true contender in the league.
Tactically, they've morphed into a high-pressing, 4-4-2 type of team, who definitely don't want to have a lot of possession. Their goal is to score in transition, and they're the only team in MLS this season to hold less than 40% possession.
In transition, they use their DP strike partnership of Louis Munteanu and Tai Baribo to punish opponents. As the two new signings have settled in together, they've formed a formidable strike partnership that is the biggest key to this team's success.
Those two have provided 16 of the team's 26 goals this year, while former Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson is top-10 in saves per game as he keeps them in games on the other end of the pitch.
It's not the prettiest system, but with just five losses on the campaign, it's been effective enough, and fans in DC are likely fine with anything that can get the group back into the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Availability
Sánchez's debut will not come this weekend, with Eullaffroy telling reporters Wednesday that Columbus is the earliest the Chilean could see the pitch.
Otherwise, Frankie Amaya was training solo this week, so he likely won't be available. Wiki Carmona, Efrain Morales, Bode Hidalgo and Brayan Ceballos were all not spotted at training.
On the DC side of things, it appears Gabe Segal will be the only player to miss out due to injury.
Projected XIs
With both of these teams likely fresh after a couple of weeks off, TrueNorthFoot expects something pretty close to the best available lineups to start on each side.
CF Montréal (4-3-3): Thomas Gillier; Luca Petrasso, Brayan Vera, Jalen Neal, Dawid Bugaj; Victor Loturi, Samuel Piette, Matty Longstaff; Noah Streit, Prince Owusu, Hennadiy Synchuk
DC United (4-4-2): Sean Johnson; Keisuke Kurokawa, Kye Rowles, Lucas Bartlett, Silvan Hefti; João Peglow, Andre Dozzell, Brandon Servania, Jackson Hopkins; Louis Munteanu, Tai Baribo
Game information and how to watch
📆 Saturday, August 15, 2026
⏰ 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT
📺 Apple TV / TSN / RDS
🧑⚖️ Pierre-Luc Lauzière
🏟 Stade Saputo, Montréal, Canada
