It's the penultimate matchday of the 2026 MLS campaign as CF Montréal head out to the Big Apple to face an NYCFC side that is in dire need of a win to stay alive in the playoff race.

The Impact also hope for a win, for more trivial reasons. Any dropped points would guarantee a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference, and while they're staying ahead of Sporting KC in the wooden spoon race thanks to the Western Conference side's ongoing four-game losing streak, a win could keep the bleu-blanc-noir from the absolute bottom of the league table.

This meeting is the second and final between these two foes this season, with the prior encounter being a 1-0 Montréal win at Stade Saputo back in April, which was Philippe Eullaffroy's second game in the interim chair.

In fact, the Impact have had more success against NYCFC than anyone else over the past couple of years, winning each of the last three meetings in shutout fashion.

How Montréal enter the match

October has not been the kindest month for this club, going winless in six matches, with the Canadian Championship final loss of course being at the heart of all disappointment.

Between rumours of players giving up on the club, supporter groups making their issues heard loud and clear, and other issues on and off the pitch, it's been just a countdown until the off-season for a little bit now.

Wednesday's trip to Charlotte was another forgettable and sizeable loss, with Liel Abada scoring a hat trick in a 4-0 defeat that was never really a contest for a team that has all but started their winter vacation.

But there are still two games to be played, and some players at least will be fighting for contracts or pride or whatever else they can find to give them any bit of motivation in this disaster of a campaign.

For a team that's given out a lot of tricks to its supporters this season, maybe they can serve them up a treat on Halloween.

How NYCFC enter the match

A midweek win over Atlanta kept the Pigeons' slim playoff hopes alive, but a six-game winless skid prior to Wednesday has put them in a pretty precarious position.

They sit 12th in the East, three points back of ninth-place Columbus, but would also have to overtake both Red Bull New York and Toronto in order to grab that final spot.

Their fate is entirely out of their hands now, as they'll need a massive number of results to go their way over the next two weekends.

A loss in this game will officially see elimination, while a draw plus a Columbus win/draw or RBNY win would also eliminate them. Even if NYCFC win this one, a scenario where Columbus and Cincinnati both win, while Orlando pick up at least one point, would also eliminate them.

So, hopes are hanging on by the slimmest of margins for a team that had decent expectations heading into the year on the back of two straight solid campaigns in 2024 and 2025. 

Injuries have certainly made their mark this year, with star striker Alonso Martínez missing a major chunk of the season with an ACL tear suffered last fall on international duty, while veteran midfield maestro Maxi Moralez suffered the same injury back in May.

Other key starters such as Andrés Perea, Keaton Parks, James Sands and Kai Trewin have missed solid chunks of the year as well. 

The one constant in this team throughout the year has been Nico Fernández Mercau. The Argentine attacking midfielder's goals have cooled off a bit from his torrid pace to start the year, but he still sits near the top of the league with 16 goals on the season.

Elsewhere, winger Agustín Ojeda has enjoyed a breakout campaign, while U.S. international Matt Freese has had an up-and-down season in goal.

It hasn't been the year they'd hoped for out in New York City, but they'll fight to savage it until they're mathematically done for.

Availability

Montréal missed Brayan Ceballos, Thomas Gillier, Bode Hidalgo, Jalen Neal and Prince Owusu on Wednesday through injury, and it's probably fair to say each of them will miss Saturday's trip as well. 

For NYCFC, they should be without Trewin, Moralez, Drew Baiera and Arnau Farnós.

Projected XIs

For Montréal, Brandan Craig returns to the starting group, while Olger Escobar gets a start after a decent showing off the bench last time out. Meanwhile, NYCFC remain unchanged after their win midweek.

CF Montréal (4-2-3-1): Samsy Keita; Luca Petrasso, Efrain Morales, Brandan Craig, Dawid Bugaj; Victor Loturi, Matty Longstaff; Noah Streit, Olger Escobar, Wiki Carmona; Daniel Ríos

NYCFC (4-2-3-1): Matt Freese; Kevin O'Toole, James Sands, Thiago Martins, Tayvon Gray; Andrés Perea, Aiden O'Neill; Hannes Wolf, Nico Fernández Mercau, Agustín Ojeda; Alonso Martínez

Game information and how to watch

📆 Saturday, October 31
⏰ 2:00 pm ET / 11:00 am PT
📺 Apple TV / TSN / RDS
🧑‍⚖️ Tim Ford
🏟 Citi Field, New York City, United States