|
|
First thoughts
Officially eliminated from MLS playoff contention and now only having CONCACAF Champions League to focus on, the Montreal Impact will be looking for its third straight victory in all competitions when they travel to Columbus, Ohio and Crew Stadium to take on the Columbus Crew on Saturday.
Following a 1-0 Champions League victory over New York Red Bulls and a 2-0 win over San Jose Earthquakes last time out, Head Coach Frank Klopas and his players will be looking to build off what was a positive week as the season draws to a close.
Columbus on the other hand are on a three match unbeaten run and sit 5th in the Eastern Conference, just above the dreaded red line with the Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC fighting to overtake them.
Oddly enough, the last time the Crew felt defeat was against this Montreal Impact side and it was the league’s true introduction to its newest Argentine DP. Ignacio Piatti announced his true arrival on the MLS scene by scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory, while outshining his counterpart and fellow countryman in Federico Higuain.
Keep Thinking
Suffering from an ongoing knee injury that forced him to come off against the Quakes, Klopas could be without Piatti in the starting XI this time around and it will be interesting to see how Columbus take advantage.
Coach Gregg Berhalter has received particularly good production in the center of midfield through the duo of Tony Tchiani and Will Trapp, who have fortified the squad even in the face of change. Selling defender Giancarlo Gonzalez, adding defender Emanuel Pogatetz and switching between Jairo Arrieta, Adam Bedell and Aaron Schoenfeld up front has seen the team put up mixed results, however the two constants have been holding down the middle.
The key for Montreal if they’re indeed without Piatti will be getting creativity out of a trio of players. Felipe, Andres Romero and Dilly Duka have the opportunity to take over an important role and be the main supply line to goal poachers Marco Di Vaio and Jack McInerney. Creating space and chances will also be vial, as Montreal look to attack the opposition fullbacks Eric Gehrig and Waylon Francis and generated counter attacks.
Final Thoughts
Being without such an influential players like Piatti does alter things for the Impact, but playing the role of spoiler might also be a motivating factor.
Prediction
Montreal Impact 1-1 Columbus Crew
|