The gauntlet continues for CF Montréal.

After dropping a pair of 1-0 results to the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, Nashville and Miami, Saturday's contest at Stade Saputo brings the third-placed New England Revolution to town.

Now, there's a pretty sizeable eight-point gap between the top two and the rest of the conference, and the Revs certainly don't have the depth of talent that the Impact's previous two opponents have on display. But it'll still be another big test for a team desperately needing positive results to keep pace in a busy playoff chase.

Saturday will mark the second meeting between these two foes in 2026, with New England taking a commanding 3-0 victory in Foxborough back on April 4th, the second-to-last game of the Marco Donadel era for Montréal.

How Montréal enter the match

The attack has yet to return from the World Cup break for the bleu-blanc-noir, with zero goals in three MLS games since the league resumed play.

This has led to the team collecting just one point in those three games, a 0-0 draw in the Canadian Classique. Overlapping the break, Montréal is now six games without a win in MLS play.

That dreary run has coincided with a drop back down the standings. After a good new coach bump under Philippe Eullaffroy, results have been harder to come by, even if the performances are at a higher level than they were prior to the coaching change.

To look at things in a positive light, the Impact have created 3.6 expected goals from 29 shots in their past three games, and not getting any return from that suggests the problem has more to do with a bit of bad luck and lacking quality finishing rather than a big flaw with how the team is playing.

Still, hypothetical stats mean very little in the heat of a playoff race, where every point matters. The lack of quality likely has partly to do with the lack of spend on this roster, and with each week that passes with more points dropped, the playoffs get further and further away.

Prince Owusu has been in good form this season, but his nine goals lead the team by a big margin. And, when the currently injured Wiki Carmona is taken out of the equation, nobody else on the team has more than two league goals. There needs to be more secondary offence showing up, or the offensive woes will continue.

Montréal currently sits seven points back of ninth-placed DC United for the last post-season spot, and will have to leapfrog three other teams to get that spot as the 2026 season officially crosses its halfway point.

How New England enter the match

Things continue to trend in a positive direction for the Revs under first-year head coach Marko Mitrović, as his side is now up to third in the East and hosts one of the best defensive records in MLS at the halfway point.

Of course, Spanish attacking midfielder Carles Gil leads the way for this side, with the maestro recording six goals and three assists so far this season.

Luca Langoni has had a few small injury issues, but is enjoying his breakout campaign in MLS with three goals and six assists, while striker Dor Turgeman has three goals and four assists of his own.

These three have formed a formidable attack, and Gil has produced some magic moments to help get this team out of a couple of binds, but the defensive unit has been the backbone of New England's rise up the standings in 2026.

The return of U.S. international goalkeeper Matt Turner has been one of the biggest reasons for that. His 7.18 goals prevented and four clean sheets have him arguably the best 'keeper in the league this season in his first full season back from Europe.

But still, the back line has done a formidable job as well. Mamdou Fofana and Ethan Kohler have formed a really strong partnership at centre-back, while Nigerian international Alhassan Yussuf and U.S. youth international Brooklyn Raines keep things steady in the midfield.

All of those factors together have the Revs at just 1.20 goals conceded per match, the fourth-best tally in MLS this season.

Availability

For Montréal, it's expected Carmona is still weeks away from returning, while Thomas Gillier, Bode Hidalgo and Frankie Amaya haven't been training with the group this week, so likely won't be available. Owen Graham-Roache remains away with Canada's U20S, and thus won't be in the squad this weekend.

Meanwhile, Brayan Ceballos, who was dealt from New England to Montréal last week, also hasn't been training with the team yet due to reported work permit hurdles, so it would likely be premature for him to debut as of yet.

From the Revolution side of things, Ilay Feingold, Andrew Farrell and Leo Campana are expected to remain out with their respective injuries. Yusuf, who came off in last weekend's win over Atlanta, should be marked as questionable.

New signing, DP winger Jack Harrison could debut, but his availability status is unclear as of now.

Projected XIs

TrueNorthFoot projects two changes for Montréal, with Noah Streit entering as more of a traditional winger on the left in place of Daniel Ríos, and Jalen Neal returning in defence.

New England, meanwhile, should remain unchanged from last week, assuming Yusuf is good to go. If he's out, expect Jackson Yueill to come into midfield.

CF Montréal (4-3-3): Sébastian Breza; Luca Petrasso, Brayan Vera, Jalen Neal, Dawid Bugaj; Victor Loturi, Samuel Piette, Matty Longstaff; Noah Streit, Prince Owusu, Hennadiy Synchuk

New England Revolution (4-2-3-1): Matt Turner; Will Sands, Mamadou Fofana, Ethan Kohler, Matt Polster; Alhassan Yusuf, Brooklyn Raines; Marcos Zambrano, Carles Gil, Peyton Miller; Dor Turgeman

Game information and how to watch

📆 Saturday, August 1, 2026
⏰ 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT
📺 Apple TV
🧑‍⚖️ Jair Marrufo
🏟 Stade Saputo, Montréal, Canada