The Montreal Impact are struggling, and with the international break fast approaching, would like to celebrate Canada Day by picking up some much-needed points.
Winless in three games in Major League Soccer action and losers in heartbreaking fashion to Toronto FC in the Canadian Championship Final, the Impact host D.C. United at Stade Saputo on Saturday evening.
"I think if you look at individual games, there have been moments where we could certainly be higher in the table," said Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush. "But the fact is, we're not and that's due to a lot of reasons, but it also gives us hope that we can turn it around."
The Impact and United sit tied for last in the MLS Eastern Conference with 18 points, and D.C owns only 12 goals. Road points are very hard to come by in this league and United have been close lately, dropping a one-goal game Philadelphia in their last league contest.
It's been a hectic schedule for D.C., with several consecutive weeks with games in midweek and on weekend. That concludes this week with Saturday's game in Montreal leading to a game Tuesday night in Dallas.
United lost at home to Montreal 1-0 earlier in the season and will be looking to return the favor this week.
"We're in the midst of a lot of road trips but that's part of the MLS season," said United head coach Ben Olsen. "We like our depth and we've got some guys that can get the right result."
Montreal will be without Canadians Patrice Bernier, Maxime Crepeau and Anthony Jackson-Hamel, who have linked up with the Canadian squad to prepare for the CONCACAF Gold Cup that starts next week.
United will be without MLS save leader Bill Hamid, who is with the U.S. team for Gold Cup, so look for Travis Worra to pick up the slack in goal.
In addition to those absences, Daniel Lovitz (knee) and Ignacio Piatti (groin) remain out while Patrick Mullins (knee) and Bobby Boswell (groin) are absences for United while Rib Vincent (knee) and Nick DeLeon (abdominal) are questionable.
