MLS Club de Foot Montreal

Impact Faces Crew Saturday Night in Columbus

Published on June 14, 2013 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club de Foot Montreal News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - After a break in the schedule due to World Cup qualifying, the Montreal Impact (8-2-2) returns to the pitch at Crew Stadium this Saturday to take on the Columbus Crew (4-5-5) at 7:30pm (ET). The game will be broadcast live on TVA Sports, as well as on illico mobile, illico web and MLS Live. You can also get live updates using the Impact mobile app or by following @impactmontreal on twitter.

The Impact will try to win its fourth consecutive game in MLS action following victories against Real Salt Lake, Philadelphia and Sporting Kansas City.

The Impact sits in first place in the Eastern Conference standings; having earned 26 points in 12 games played - one point ahead of the New York Red Bulls with four games in hand, and is just two points behind FC Dallas in the race for the Supporters Shield title with two games in hand.

Head to head

This is the second of three regular season games between these teams in 2013. In the first matchup, on April 13, the Impact and Crew tied 1-1 at Stade Saputo on a goal by Marco Di Vaio. The Italian striker and midfielder Justin Mapp each have two career goals against Columbus.

The two teams also faced each other in the championship game of the Walt Disney Pro Soccer Classic this preseason in Florida, with the Impact taking the title thanks to a 1-0 victory.

Impact news

The Impact came from behind to beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on the road in its last game, back on June 1 in what was a difficult contest. Following ejections that took place in the game, Impact head coach Marco Schällibaum and defender Alessandro Nesta will each serve an automatic one-game suspension and will miss the game in Columbus.

Midfielder Sanna Nyassi will also miss Saturday's game as well as he is currently with the Gambian men's national team for a pair of World Cup qualifying matches. Nyassi played all 90 minutes in a 3-0 loss against Ivory Coast on June 8 in Bakau, Gambia, and will now face Morocco in Marrakesh on June 15.

Italians Andrea Pisanu (midfielder) and Daniele Paponi (forward) have returned to full training this week following lengthy injuries that have kept them out of the lineup since mid-April.

Marco Di Vaio is second in league scoring with nine goals in 12 games played and, along with goalkeeper Troy Perkins, defender Matteo Ferrari, and midfielders Justin Mapp, Felipe and Patrice Bernier, has been named to the voting ballot for the MLS All-Star game versus AS Roma at the end of July.

Columbus Crew News

The Columbus Crew sit in 7th spot in the Eastern Conference with 17 points in 14 games played and has struggled at home this season, having scored just six goals in as many league games played, earning just one victory over that span (1-2-3).

Overall, the Crew have won just once in its last six MLS matches. The last time they took the pitch in regular season action, the Crew fell 3-0 to the Union in Philadelphia on June 5. Prior to that, the Black and Gold played the Houston Dynamo to a 1-1 draw in its last home game on June 1.

Thursday, the Crew were ousted from the US Open Cup by Chicago at home, falling 2-1 to the Fire, extending its winless streak to three games across all competitions.

The Crew will be without midfielder Eddie Gaven due to a season ending knee injury, centre back Chad Marshall with a hamstring problem and forward Jairo Arrieta due to national team duty with Costa Rica.

Right back Josh Williams (calf), as well as defensive midfielders Danny O'Rourke (ankle) and Agustin Viana (hamstring) are all expected to be available Saturday following injuries.

Upcoming games

Following Saturday's matchup, the Impact and the Crew will renew hostilities on Sunday in MLS Reserve League action at the OBETZ training facility at 10am (ET). As a result, four members of the Impact U21 team have made the trip to Columbus: Mircea Ilcu, Dominique Morin, Jeremy Gagnon-Laparé and Amine Meftouh.

The Impact returns to Montreal to host the Houston Dynamo at Stade Saputo on Wednesday night, June 19, at 8pm (ET), with special rates for father's day, and will then welcome the Colorado Rapids on June 29 and Chivas USA on July 7.

The Impact U21 will play an international friendly at Stade Saputo on Saturday, June 22, at 7:30pm, against the Haitian national team.

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