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The Canadian Premier League is back.
Forge takes on reigning champions Atlético Ottawa in Hamilton on Saturday.
It's the start of yet another season where both teams, alongside Cavalry, are the favourites to make the podium.
The Hammers had the least turnover across the league, though they lost some key players in Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson and Alessandro Hojabrpour. As Forge has done consistently since their inaugural season, they have found a quality replacement for the latter in Anthony Aromatario, who was signed to a standard multi-year contract after his performances against Tigres in February.
Atlético Ottawa, on the other hand, has gone through a big rebuild, notably losing David Rodríguez and Sam Salter, the two of whom combined participated in over 50% of the side's goal contributions across all competitions in 2025. Amer Didic and Nathan Ingham transferred to the west at Cavalry, while Kevin dos Santos and Aboubacar Sissoko left for Derry City in Ireland and CPL expansion side FC Supra, respectively.
For the Hammers, it will be interesting to see if their possession-based game can translate into goals. The club brought in Spanish striker Ismael Oketo at the beginning of the year, with the 19-year-old surprisingly starting both of Forge's matches against Tigres, and showing some promise in both. The Hammers, for a second year running, fell short in the playoffs after CPL Shield-winning campaigns.
The biggest question mark ahead of this match, however, goes Ottawa's way, who have lost their two main goal providers in Rodriguez and Salter. After a disappointing 7-0 aggregate loss to Nashville in the Champions Cup, which left a clear hole when it comes to creating chances, new signings Erling Myklebust and Emiliano García, alongside Ballou Tabla, will have a big task to do if they want a shot at matching the offensive output from the prior season that saw them lift the North Star Cup.
The debut of new rule
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The Canadian Premier League will see several changes ahead of the 2026 season.
A new offside rule trial will be introduced, with an attacking player considered onside if any part of their body that can legally score a goal is level with or behind the second-to-last defender.
Football Video Support has also been implemented, giving each team at least two 'challenges' for goals, penalty decisions, red cards, and cases of mistaken identity.
New measures to address time-wasting will also come into effect. Throw-ins and goal kicks can be turned over to the opposition, players must leave the field within 10 seconds when substituted or their team will play a man down for a minute, and players who receive treatment for an injury must leave the pitch for one minute.
How Forge comes into the match
A 4-1 loss to Tigres this February in Champions Cup action was the last time the Hammers saw the pitch, bowing out of the international competition.
Forge entered the game tied 0-0 after the goalless first leg in Hamilton, firmly believing there was a chance at snatching a win over the Mexican giants.
Rodrigo Aguirre opened the scoring in the 21st minute, before doubling his side's lead in the 71st.
Forge earned a penalty eight minutes later, which Brian Wright converted, putting the Canadian Premier League side within one goal of advancing.
The celebrations didn't last long, however, as World Cup champion Ángel Correa put one out of reach of Dimitry Bertaud, putting Tigres ahead by two.
Joaquim, unmarked off the corner kick, put the tie to bed to make it 4-1 for the Mexicans.
How Atlético Ottawa come into the match
Ottawa's Champions Cup campaign saw them fall 7-0 on aggregate to Major League Soccer side Nashville.
The reigning CPL champions struggled to generate much offensively, with their best chances coming in the final minutes of the first leg.
Last time out
Atlético Ottawa defeated Forge in the first semi-final of last year's playoffs, forcing the CPL Shield winners to play another match against Cavalry, which would see them fall to their rivals and miss the final for the first time in their history.
David Choinière, now the captain of expansion side FC Supra, opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after a misunderstanding by the Ottawa defence, which saw the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec native have a wide-open net.
Ottawa tied the game 10 minutes later through Gabriel Antinoro, who made his way just outside the box after a great run on the left wing, and put a beautiful strike past Jassem Koleilat.
Sam Salter scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 58th minute, seeing Ottawa through to their 2nd final.
Absences and doubts
As per the Canadian Premier League, Nana Ampomah remains out for Forge due to visa issues, and it's unclear when he'll be able to play. The CPL also reports that Dan Nimick, Daniel Krutzen, and Kyle Bekker will be unavailable for this match.
Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía confirmed that Roni Mbomio will be unavailable, while goalkeeper Garissone Innocent is day-to-day as he deals with an injury.
Projected XIs
With the absences of Dan Nimick and Daniel Krutzen, TrueNorthFoot projects a start for youngster Zayne Bruno at the right-back position, with Rezart Rama shifting to a centre-back role.
Forge FC (4-2-3-1): Dimitry Bertaud; Marko Jevremovic, Antoine Batisse, Rezart Rama, Zayne Bruno; Noah Jensen, Anthony Aromatario; Mo Babouli, Tristan Borges, Hoce Massunda; Ismael Oketo
Atlético Ottawa (3-4-2-1): Tristan Crampton; Sergei Kozlovskiy, Noah Abatneh, Loïc Cloutier; Gabriel Antinoro, Juan Castro, Manuel Aparicio, Emiliano García; Ballou Tabla, Jonantan Villal; Erling Myklebust
Game information and how to watch
📆 Saturday, April 4, 2026
⏰ 12:00 pm ET / 9:00 am PT
📺 OneSoccer, TSN, CBC, FuboTV, Telus Optik TV Ch. 980
👤 Yusri Rudolf
🏟 Hamilton Stadium, Hamilton, Canada
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