The latest edition of the Canadian Classique takes place at Saputo Stadium in the early hours of Friday morning at CF Montreal entertainment Toronto FC.
After winning just one and losing six of their opening seven clashes in MLS this term, Montreal decided to sack manager Marco Donadel and replace him with Phillipe Eullaffroy.
The Frenchman has made a decent impact since taking interim charge, picking up 11 points from his opening seven matches in charge (W3-D2-L2).
However, L’Impact headed into the World Cup break in the midst of a three-game winless run (W0-D2-L1), with the latest of those being a thrilling 4-4 draw away at DC United.
Toronto began the campaign by suffering back-to-back losses away at Dallas and the Vancouver Whitecaps, but Robin Fraser’s visitors would go on to win three and draw one of their next four (W3-D1-L0).
However, the Reds are now in the midst of an eight-game winless run (W0-D4-L4), losing each of their last three and four of their past five.
The pair are stuck on 14 points in the Eastern Conference table, four points outside the playoff places.
How the bookies view it: Montreal favourites
Despite failing to win any of their last three MLS encounters, Montreal have been installed as favourites here, with bet365 pricing a home success at 1/1.
Toronto are 12/5 to put an end to their eight-game winless run in MLS, whilst the draw pays an appealing 5/2.
Head to head: Toronto with the recent advantage
These two rivals have met on 36 occasions in the MLS era, with Toronto holding a slight advantage with 16 wins, Montreal winning 14, and the other six ending in draws.
The Reds have the recent advantage over L’Impact, having won three and drawn one of the last four clashes (W3-D1-L0).
Players to watch: The Prince to haunt his old side?
Montreal’s key attacking outlet is Prince Owusu, with the Ghanaian scoring nine times in 14 appearances in MLS this term.
Three of those came against DC United last time out, and I like the look of him at 20/21 at bet365 to get on the scoresheet and haunt his ex-employers.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
CF Montreal: Gillier, Bugaj, Morales, Vera, Petrasso, Escobar, Loturi, Longstaff, Rios, Streit, Owusu
Toronto FC: Gavran, Gilman, Henry, Zimmerman, Gomis, Franklin, Coello, Etienne Jr, Edwards, Vilsaint, Sargent
Anything else catch the eye?
Montreal’s opening 14 MLS encounters this season have averaged an eye-catching 3.79 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals landing in 11 (79%) of them, whilst seven of their previous 11 have yielded goals at both ends.
Toronto’s opening 14 MLS fixtures in MLS this season have averaged 3.64 goals per game, with Both Teams to Score landing in 12 (86%) of them – including in each of their last 11 – whilst six of their past seven have and 10 (71%) overall have gone Over 2.5 Goals.
What’s more, five of the last six meetings between these two rivals have produced goals at both ends – with Over 2.5 Goals accompanying in four of them – and a repeat appeals at 5/6 at bet365.
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