Last week, Nashville put on an impressive display as the picked up a 3-1 win over New York City FC. Tonight, They head north of the border to take on CF Montréal. Can Nashville picked up their second road win of the season? Will Montréal keep their unbeaten streak intact?
CF Montréal
Coming into the season, most people (including myself) predicted CF Montréal would finish toward the bottom of the league but through 22 matches, they find themselves in sixth place. After a long stint playing their home matches in Florida, they are back at Saputo Stadium.
Wilfred Nancy’s team comes into tonight’s match unbeaten in their last four matches including a 3-1 win over rivals Toronto FC. They will be looking to extend that streak to five matches but will have to do so with several key players out.
Two of Montréal’s will be missing as Kiki Struna picked up a calf injury and Rudy Camacho is serving a yellow card suspension. Coach Nancy will also be without his top goal scorer, Mason Toye, who is struggling with a shoulder injury.
The question for Wilfred Nancy will be how he decides to lineup up his team. He prefers to play with a back three, but missing two starting center backs will force him to make compromises. I actually do expect to see Nancy to move Victor Wanyama back into defense to preserve the three back formation.
Up front, the absence of Mason Toye makes them less of a threat but Romell Quioto is back from injury and will be an added threat off the bench. As long as Nashville can keep Djordje Mihailovic from getting on the ball, they should be able to nullify the Montréal attack.
Nashville SC
Last Friday’s match was an all action affair full of goals, red cards and bench clearing brawls. After all the excitement of a 3-1 win, The Boys in Gold prepare for another road trip.
Tonight’s match was already one of great importance but with Orlando losing to Atlanta United, Nashville has the ability to take sole possession of second place. With only three of Nashvilles remaining twelve matches at home, it is paramount that they pick up points on the road against teams below them in the table, even on the road.
Nashville’s international players all returned home without injury and will be available for selection according to Coach Gary Smith. They will be evaluated before tonight’s match and expect to see several of them slot straight back in to the starting lineup.
Daniel Ríos and C.J. Sapong have clicked immediately together and will lead the line against Montréal’s depleted defense. Hany Mukhtar will slot in behind as he looks to facilitate the attack and help them transition quickly on the counter. I would expect the three of them to find plenty of opportunites.
In the middle of the field, Nashville will of course be without captain Dax McCarty who is serving a red card suspension after the altercation against New York. Brian Anunga will be the lynchpin of the Nashville midfield but the question will be who starts along side him. If Anibal Godoy is deemed fit enough to play after his appeareances for Panama, I expect him to get the call.
At the back, the Taylor Washington and Daniel Lovitz wingback pairing has been quite successfull and would expect to see it deployed again. Alistair Johnston had a busy international break and would not be surprised to see him get some rest. Walker Zimmerman was the only member of Nashville’s international contingent that did not see any minutes over the break. Coach Smith will have no problem slotting him straight back in as he partners up with Dave Romney and Jack Maher.
Injury report
Availability report for #MTLvNSH: #CFMTL
— Ben Wright (@benwright) September 10, 2021
OUT: Mason Toye (shoulder), Róbert Thorkelsson (adductor), Kiki Struna (calf)
SUSPENDED: Rudy Camacho (yellow card accumulation)#EveryoneN
OUT: n/a
SUSPENDED: Dax McCarty (red card), Jhonder Cádiz (disciplinary committee review)
Pod picks
Ben Wright
Score: Montréal 0 – 1 Nashville
Scorers: Daniel Ríos
MOTM: Daniel Ríos
Bold Prediction: Montreal takes twice as many shots as Nashville
Andy Simmons
Score: Montréal 0 – 1 Nashville
Scorers: Hany Mukhtar
MOTM: Dave Romney
Bold Prediction: Mukhtar gets his goal from the penalty spot
Jonathan Slape
Score: Montréal 0 – 2 Nashville
Scorers: C.J. Sapong Hany Mukhtar
MOTM: Hany Mukhtar
Bold Prediction: Mukhtar gets a goal an assist and earns himself another team of the week selection
Chris Ivey
Score: Montréal 1 – 1 Nashville
Scorers: Hany Mukhtar
MOTM: Hany Mukhtar
Bold Prediction: Montréal dominates possession but hardly ever threatens Joe. xGA under 1.0
Davey Shepherd
Score: Montréal 0 – 2 Nashville
Scorers: Daniel Ríos, Hany Mukhtar
MOTM: Hany Mukhtar
Bold Prediction: Loba plays the most minutes yet.
Lucas Panzica
Score: Montréal 2 – 0 Nashville
Scorers: Aké Loba, Hany Mukhtar
MOTM: Hany Mukhtar
Bold Prediction: Loba play 30+ minutes
Have a prediction for this week’s match? Vote in our Fan Forecast
After their big win over NYCFC, #EveryoneN are back on the road as the face #CFMTL. Vote in our #FanForecast and reply with a #BoldPrediction.#MTLvNSH
— Speedway Soccer (@SpeedwaySoc) September 11, 2021
Match Info
Teams: CF Montréal (6th) vs Nashville SC ( 3rd )
Power Rankings: CF Montréal (14th) vs Nashville SC (2nd)
Odds: Montréal (+125), Draw (+230), Nashville (+200) via BetMGM
Date: Saturday, September 11
Time: 7:00 PM Central, Saputo Stadium, Montréal, Québec
TV: MyTV30, ESPN+ (out of Market)
Radio: 94.9 The Game 2 (English); El Jefe 96.7 (Spanish)
Forecast: 74°/66°. Partly cloudy. 0% chance of rain. 58% humidity
