Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union

Who: Philadelphia Union vs CF Montreal

What: MLS Regular Season, Matchday 11

Where: Stade Saputo, Montreal, Quebec

When: Saturday, May 3, 7:30 PM EST

Watch: Apple TV MLS Season Pass, Listen in on 97.5 FM

Whistle: TBD

The Union are riding high on the back of two consecutive 3-0 wins over Eastern Conference rivals. They will look to keep that momentum going this week while visiting the winless CF Montreal.

Scouting Report: CF Montreal

There’s no getting around it: Montreal have been dire this season. Montreal sit last in the East with no wins, three draws, and just four goals scored through ten MLS games this year. They fired head coach Laurent Courtois just five matches into the season, but haven’t fared much better under interim coach Marco Donadel. However, Donadel did manage a positive result Wednesday, ousting Toronto FC from the Preliminary Round of the Canadian Championship on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Montreal will hope this is the start of something, anything, to turn their season around.

Montreal’s roster is largely composed of talented, but underperforming young players cast off from teams all over the league (hello, Brandan Craig!) with a sprinkling of veteran MLSers available on the cheap (hello, Fabian Herbers!). One reason for Montreal’s attacking struggles might well be the long absence of Giacomo Vrioni, the team’s only Designated Player. Brought over from the New England Revolution this offseason, Vrioni missed the first nine games of the year with a lower body injury, only making his debut last weekend. Vrioni has made a quick impact, scoring a spectacular volley midweek against Toronto. Although he may not yet be fit to go from the start, the Union defense will need to keep an eye on Vrioni whenever he is on the field.

• Player Availability: Bryce Duke – Lower Body (Out), Hennadii Synchuk – Lower Body (Out)

Scouting Report: Philadelphia Union

The Union weren’t quite as dominant last week as the 3-0 scoreline might suggest. Philadelphia relied on a few moments of individual talent up front, as well as some Andre Blake heroics in net to come away with the result. It may not always look pretty, but so far this season it has gotten results; the Union have matched their best ever start to the season through ten games, and the underlying numbers back up this great run of form.

This week, expect Luka Jovic to return to the starting lineup after serving his red card suspension against DC United. On the backline, Frankie Westfield’s continued strong performances mean that Nathan Harriel will probably get another start at center-back, where he has been surprisingly good this season.

The situation at forward continues to present something of a headache. Tai Baribo is still tied for the lead in the MLS Golden Boot race, while club-record signing Bruno Damiani showed great strength to take his goal off the bench last week. Ideally, Carnell could start them together, but the two have demonstrated little chemistry, and both seem to play better alongside Mikael Uhre. I expect Baribo and Uhre to get the start again this week, with an eye toward getting Damiani minutes in the midweek Open Cup match against Indy Eleven.

• Player Availability: Ian Glavinovich – Knee (Out)

Key Matchup: Quinn Sullivan vs. Samuel Piette

Montreal captain Samuel Piette is a long-time MLS veteran and Canadian international, with a hard-earned reputation as a tough, dogged defensive midfielder. Piette will likely focus his efforts this week on Quinn Sullivan, who has been the primary attacking spark out of the Union midfield this season. If Piette can stick close to Sullivan, Philadelphia may struggle to progress the ball through midfield.

Player to Watch: Danley Jean Jacques

Can Danley extend his goal-scoring streak to three matches in a row? Maybe not, but he doesn’t need to score to provide value for the Union; Danley’s defensive contributions at the center of midfield have been outstanding over the past few weeks.

Prediction: CF Montreal 0 – 2 Union

There is a hint of a trap game about this one, but that’s no fun to predict. The Union continue their hot streak, and Montreal’s search for a win drags on another week.