CF Montreal will be looking to get their 2025 Major League Soccer campaign up and running when they play host to Charlotte FC at the Saputo Stadium on Saturday night.
The Crown will head into the weekend looking to end their run of three consecutive away defeats against Marco Donadel's men and punch down their first win on the road this season.
Match preview
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Seven games into the 2025 MLS season and Montreal are yet to get their first win on the board, with their latest outing ending in a 2-1 defeat against Columbus Crew last Sunday.
Donadel's side went into the game looking to build on their 1-1 comeback stalemate against Chicago Fire on March 30 but found themselves two goals down before the half-hour mark, before Prince-Osei Owusu pulled one back in the second half.
Having reached the playoff first round last season, Montreal have picked up just two points from the first 21 available this term to sit rock-bottom in the Eastern Conference standings and 29th in the Supporters' Shield table, only above LA Galaxy.
The Canadian outfits' slow start to the season has been owing to their lack of firepower in attack, where they have scored just four goals so far — the second-fewest goal tally of all 30 teams — while they have shipped 12 at the opposite end of the pitch.
Montreal will be backing themselves to find their feet this weekend as they take on an opposing side who are on a three-game losing streak at the Saputo Stadium and have failed to win their last six visits, losing five and claiming one draw since May 2022.
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In stark contrast, Charlotte could climb to the top of the Eastern Conference standings with all three points this weekend after what has been a solid start to the league campaign.
Dean Smith's men head into Sunday's clash off the back of a 2-1 victory over Nashville last time out when they scored two goals in the final five minutes to complete a thrilling comeback at the Bank of America Stadium.
Hany Mukhtar broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute to put Nashville in front but Wilfried Zaha launched the hosts' comeback with an 85th-minute penalty before Idan Toklomati Jorno completed the turnaround in the 90th minute.
Before that, Charlotte were denied a third back-to-back victory on March 29, when they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Colorado Rapids at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park courtesy of a second-half brace from Dorde Mihailovic.
The Crown have picked up four wins and one draw from their opening seven matches to collect 13 points and sit fourth in the East, level on points with Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati, and two points off leaders Columbus Crew.
While Charlotte will look to keep the juggernaut rolling, they will need to show their mettle this weekend as they have failed to taste victory in five consecutive away games in the league and have managed just one victory from their last 11 since July 2024.
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Team News
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Kwadwo Opoku missed the game against Columbus Crew last time after sustaining an injury and the 23-year-old is a major doubt for Montreal.
Barring any late fitness issues, Opoku is the only injury concern for the home side heading into the weekend, giving Donadel the luxury of a relatively full-strength squad at his disposal.
As for Charlotte, Smith will be unable to name the American trio of Jahlane Forbes (hamstring), Nimfasha Berchimas (foot) and Brandon Cambridge (hamstring), who continue their spells on the sidelines.
Serbian midfielder Nikola Petkovic has missed each of the last three games since coming off with a thigh injury back in March and the 22-year-old is also out of contention for the Crown.
With his assist against Nashville last time out, Pep Biel has now been involved in seven of Charlotte's 12 goals this season, and the Olympiacos loanee will look to deliver the goods once again.
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Sirois; Guboglo, Campbell, Waterman, Petrasso; Loturi, Piette, Saliba; Sealy, Owusu, Clark
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahlina; Byrne, Ream, Malanda, Doumbia; Westwood, Bronico, Biel; Diani, Agyemang, Zaha
We say: CF Montreal 0-2 Charlotte FC
Charlotte have put together a fine run of results in recent weeks and will be licking their lips as they go up against an opposing side who are yet to find their feet this season. Having dug deep to see off Nashville last time out, Smith's men will head into this one with confidence and we are tipping them to heap more misery on the floundering hosts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
