In this edition of Oppo Research, Hudson River Blue spoke with Elias Grigoriadis of The Ball is Round Montréal to learn more about CF Montréal, New York City FC's opponent on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. Here is your NYCFC vs CF Montréal preview.
• League Form: L-L-D-L-L
• Record: 0W, 3D, 8L | 3 points, 15th place
• Scoring Leader: Prince Osei Owusu, 2 goals
• Assist Leaders: Luca Petrasso, Prince Osei Owusu, George Campbell: 1 assist
1. Montréal lacks finishing after losing Josef Martínez
Hudson River Blue: Montréal finished eighth in the Eastern Conference last season, earning the club’s second playoff appearance in the past seven seasons. Montréal lost to Atlanta United in penalty kicks in the wild-card round, but it was still a stepping stone for the team. Now, Montréal sits at the bottom of the East with no wins, what’s led to the poor start?
Elias Grigoriadis: When you evaluate CF Montréal’s total style of play, it’s easy to see that they’ve made improvements on most parts of the pitch. However, they have replaced Josef Martínez's strong goal-scoring form with quite possibly one of the worst runs of poor finishing in the club’s history. They are on track to create more chances and concede fewer than last season, but only scoring four of an expected 15 means that you will end up near the bottom of the table no matter what.
2. Giacomo Vrioni and Prince Osei Owusu have had an up-and-down start to the season
HRB: Montréal has five goals in 11 games, two of them coming from Toronto FC transfer Prince Osei Owusu. New England transfer Giacomo Vrioni has one goal in just two MLS matches. With Martínez gone, do you think these two strikers could get the job done?
EG: There was a lot of intrigue surrounding the arrival of both Owusu and Vrioni, as they had massive shoes to fill with the departure of Martínez. Vrioni’s start to the season was compromised as he arrived at training camp with an injury and only got his first start this past Saturday against the Philadelphia Union. While he has shown good elements in front of the goal and even scored a brilliant volley against rivals Toronto FC in the Canadian Championship, he still lacks the physical fitness to compete for 90 minutes.
On the other hand, Prince Owusu’s start to the season feels like a polar opposite. With the rest of the striker core either out of shape or injured, he was in pole position to solidify his status as the club's starting striker and even got off to a good start in the season opener, where he registered a goal and an assist against Atlanta United. However, his form in front of goal since then has fallen off a cliff, and he has shown a severe lack of confidence when it comes to delivering the final product. He has shown very good things both in the buildup and hold-up play and has combined very well with the attackers around him, but when you are the lone striker and you cannot put the ball in the net, that’s all people will notice.
3. Montréal's younger players are playing and developing
HRB: Younger players, like Dante Sealy, Nathan Saliba, and Fernando Álvarez all have advanced roles this season as starters. How have the prospects developed so far? Do you see them continuing to grow and become key pieces of the future of Montréal?
EG: CF Montreal has continued their project of trying to elevate and develop young talent, but this year has shown those youngsters are in need of more time to get their legs under them. Dante Sealy has been a delightful surprise since his move to the right wing, providing dynamic play and a willingness to take people on 1v1.
However, others like Fernando Alvarez, Nathan Saliba, and Caden Clark seem to have stagnated this year. Their quality is known as they have shown it on a number of occasions over the last two seasons, but it appears that they have had a difficult time asserting themselves now that expectations continue to wrap up for them. Others like Bryce Duke, Jules-Anthony Visaint, and Sunusi Ibrahim have seen their minutes and production fall drastically from last year due to a lack of form, being out of shape, or being injury-prone.
Then there is the case of 23-year-old defender George Campbell, who has been by far Montréal's best and most consistent player this season. He has quietly become one of the more underrated center-backs in MLS and could very well be looking at a national team call-up if his form continues like this.
4. The X-Factor: Giacomo Vrioni
HRB: What's the X-factor that could decide this game?
EG: The X factor for this game will be Vrioni and his ability to find the space to finish against what has become a quite stingy NYCFC defence. After last week’s loss against Philadelphia, I believe Owusu needs time on the bench not only to reset mentally but also to rest. He has played the most minutes out of any Montreal player this season and has been in the Starting XI for every single game this season.
5. Predicted score, Starting XI
HRB: Prediction time: Starting XI? Final score?
EG: Score prediction: 3-1 NYCFC win.
