NEW YORK – The Montreal Impact heads to Yankee Stadium, this Wednesday, to take on New York City FC at 7pm EDT. The game will be broadcast on RDS and on TSN Radio 690 (pregame show at 6pm on TSN Radio).
“New York is a team that pushes numbers forward and try to unbalance opponents,” said head coach Mauro Biello. “We have to close down and be very compact. We have to be solid defensively to transition forward and give opportunities to our attacking players.”
Impact comfortable on the road this season
This will be the Impact’s third visit to Yankee Stadium already since NYCFC joined MLS, in 2015. In its second game in the Bronx, the Impact won 3-2 against New York, courtesy of a Dominic Oduro opener and a Nacho Piatti brace.
In three meetings against NYCFC last season, the Impact won once and lost twice. Piatti scored three goals in as many appearances, while defender Laurent Ciman delivered two assists.
“If we play well together, we can put together good performances and get results,” said defender Laurent Ciman. “From time to time, there’ll be some technical skill or some goal from out of nowhere, but clearly, if we want to be consistent in terms of performance and results, the whole team has to work together.”
The Impact will shoot for its third road win of the season, having already triumphed in Vancouver (3-2) and Chicago (2-1). The Bleu-blanc-noir is some way ahead in terms of road results compared to last season: in 2015, the team notched its second away win of the season on its 10th attempt – and its third win on its 16th attempt.
The Montreal forwards’ contribution has been key so far. Nacho Piatti is one of seven players who share second place in the game-winning goals column, with two such goals, while Dominic Oduro is tied with four other players for first with two game-winning assists.
NYCFC looking for its groove
After an exciting 4-3 win at Chicago Fire in its season opener, NYCFC has lost its rhythm and is winless in its last six games. Head coach Patrick Vieira’s men have lost their last two in Columbus (3-2) and Philadelphia (2-0). In its last home game, NYCFC drew 0-0 with the Fire.
“Every player knows playing home and away are very different things,” said Marco Donadel. “At home, teams come and park the bus a bit. When we are away, teams try to play more, and we want to play with the ball as well. We know NYCFC is a very good team. We played them in preseason and it was a hard game. That’s what we expect on Wednesday night.”
Designated Players David Villa – NYCFC’s leading scorer this season with four tallies – and Andrea Pirlo should be available for selection by coach Vieira on Wednesday night. The other New York City DP, Frank Lampard, is dealing with muscle inflammation and is expected to miss the game.
Next game
The Montreal Impact’s following game takes place at Stade Saputo on Saturday, April 30, at 4pm EDT against the Colorado Rapids (RDS, 98,5fm &TSN Radio 690). Excellent individual tickets, as well as season tickets starting at $98 per month and Pick-4-Packs, are still available on impactmontreal.com.
