On Saturday, August 1st the Montreal Impact will visit Yankee stadium for the second time this year, with kickoff around 2pm.

Form

Montreal are doing unusually well, with a two-game win streak, which is considered something special here in the MLS. They most recently beat the Seattle Sounders in Canada, winning one-nil with a late goal in the 88th minute to seal the win. Granted, Seattle didn’t have Dempsey or Martins and have been on a deeper spiral down than Dante’s inferno, but hey, a win is a win.

If there’s one thing we can say about NYCFC these past few weeks is that it hasn’t been dull. A 4-4 game at home draw versus Toronto. A 5-3 home victory against Orlando City. It’s amazing how many goals we’re scoring, but to be letting in this amount of goals should be making our defensive coaches (if we have any) blow their fucking brains out in the shower. I mean, really. The good news is, we have Pirlo. And if that last 30-something minutes is anything to go off of, we’re in good shape. Our attack has been firing quite well, with Villa enjoying a purple patch, Poku getting playing time and oodles of assists, and McNamara somehow doing good things. Not too bad.

Lineups

Montreal (4-2-3-1): Bush (GK), Gagnon-Lapare (LB), Ciman (CB), Lefevre (CB), Reo-Coker (RB), Bernier (CM), Donadel (CM), Mallace (LM), Piatti (CAM), Duka (RM), Oduro (ST)

-Undoubtedly the biggest question mark over this lineup is whether or not Drogba will feature. While still waiting on his work permit and not having trained with the squad, it’s near impossible that he’ll play.

NYCFC (4-2-3-1): Saunders (GK), Angelino (LB), Facey (CB), Hernandez (CB), Iraola (RB), Jacobson (CM), Pirlo (CM), McNamara (LM), Poku (CAM), Mix (RM), Villa (ST)

-Firstly, this is a pretty cool lineup. The fact that it’s possible that Kreis will play this team is all too exciting.

-Will Pirlo start? Kreis is uncertain. He has, though, been very impressed with Pirlo’s fitness and his training sessions. Pirlo even trained with the subs on Monday, which was impressive. It seems possible he’ll get the start.

-One of the biggest question marks with Lampard and Pirlo in the team is what to do with Mix. On several occasions he’s played for the US team on the right flank, a position where although he feels less comfortable in, he’s excelled. Trusting Kreis to make the correct decision and play him there for NYC is always a tough endeavor, but the fact that he occupied that position as a sub last week, and scored, should be very encouraging. With all three of those guys on the field in good positions, we could have a lot of fun.

-Wingert is out with a hamstring injury (yay!) so one of either Hernandez or Mena will start. While Mena probably has better technical skills, he looked shaky against Orlando, and Hernandez has experience playing with Shay in the center. It’s most likely Mena needs more time to adjust and Hernandez will get the start.

-Oh, by the way, Lampard should make his debut tomorrow. At this point I don’t even believe myself writing that, but it seems true. He’ll come off the bench, a la Pirlo, probably for Poku, which is his natural position. A big wonder is if there’s any way to ever have Poku and Lampard on at the same time. Most likely that’d mean Poku playing out of position, but while the young Ghanaian deserves better for all the work he’s done for this team, the reality is Lampard won’t be benched and Poku’s gotta fight to stay in. We shall see.

-I guess Khiry Shelton just isn’t an MLS player anymore. It seems he’s had a left adductor strain for months, if that’s even possible. I smell a conspiracy. PS in real news, right back Josh Williams has been picked up by Toronto FC, thus freeing up wage space on our team. Mmmm, juicy.

Final Thoughts

Villa has scored three goals in two games versus the Impact. We’ve already beaten them twice, home AND away. We’ve got a far better team than we did when we won those games. For once, and only once, I’m very confident going into this match. We’re just clearly the better team and we will win.

With us level with Montreal on 24 points, this game is crucial to any hopes either side have of making the playoffs. A win here would be crucial, and we’re set up for it. Let’s see if we can make it happen.