New York Red Bulls vs. Montreal Impact | 2016 East Semifinal Match Preview

Steve Brisendine

NEW YORK RED BULLS vs. MONTREAL IMPACT
2016 Eastern Conference Semifinal – Leg 2
Red Bull Arena | Harrison, NJ
Sunday, Nov. 6
4 pm ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN in the US | RDS, TSN5 in Canada)

The Lowdown:

See if you've heard this one before: The New York Red Bulls have a great regular season. They cruise into the postseason, then flame out even before reaching the MLS Cup Final. Then they start up again next year with the space above their crest still starless. That's the danger New York are in right now, trailing Montreal 1-0 on aggregate going into Sunday's second leg at Red Bull Arena.

The Impact, meanwhile, are trying to make some history of their own. They can't reach next year's CONCACAF Champions League by winning MLS Cup, because of the way the slots are allocated, but a victory or a draw on Sunday gets them one step closer to becoming the first Canadian side to hoist the league's postseason title trophy -- even without mercurial striker Didier Drogba, who has been battling a back injury and hasn't played since refusing a spot in the 18 on Oct. 16.

Must-Read:

New York Red Bulls Snapshot:

2016 Regular Season Finish: East No. 1 seed (16-9-9 record, 57 points, 3-7-7 away record)
Current Form: W-W-W-W-L
Strengths: Golden Boot winner Bradley Wright-Phillips, assist crown winner Sacha Kljestan. If that doesn't add up to firepower in the attacking third, then nothing will.
Weaknesses: The Red Bulls' play in the defensive third isn't always locked down. Against a team as good on the counter as the Impact, that could be a problem.
Injuries/Suspensions:Omer Damari (first leg red card); Gideon Baah (left tibia) – out; Connor Lade (ACL) – out; Justin Bilyeu (head) – out
Player to Watch: BWP. The Golden Boot winner didn't find the net in the first leg, and now his team are playing from behind. They need one from him on Sunday. A brace might get the job done outright.
Probable Starting XI: Luis Robles; Kemar Lawrence, Damien Perinelle, Aurelien Collin, Chris Duvall; Dax McCarty, Felipe; Mike Grella, Sacha Kljestan, Alex Muyl; Bradley Wright-Phillips

Montreal Impact Snapshot:

2016 Regular Season Finish: East No. 5 seed (11-11-12 record, 45 points, 7-5-5 home record)
Current Form: W-D-L-W-W
Strengths: Sunday's second leg plays right into Montreal's strengths. With the 1-0 aggregate lead, they don't need a goal -- just to prevent one and maybe grab a second to ice the series. They can sit back, absorb pressure and then hit on the counter.
Weaknesses: Montreal have never won in New York. Ever. Seven tries, zero victories. A draw at Red Bull Arena would do it, of course -- but they don't have any of those, either.
Injuries/Suspensions:Andres Romero (ACL) – out; Didier Drogba (back) – unknown.
Player to Watch:Dominic Oduro. If the Impact can get him sprung on the counter a couple of times on Sunday, Oduro's speed can wreck a defense on the flanks.
Probable Starting XI: Evan Bush; Hassoun Camara, Laurent Ciman, Victor Cabrera, Ambroise Oyongo; Hernan Bernardello, Patrice Bernier, Marco Donadel; Dominic Oduro, Matteo Mancosu, Ignacio Piatti

Match Essentials:

DOWNLOAD THE FULL GAME GUIDE (PDF)
Referee:
Baldomero Toledo
Assistant Referees:
Eric Boria (AR1), Kevin Klinger (AR2)
4th Official:
Jorge Gonzalez

New York vs. Montreal Head-to-Head
All-Time (14 meetings):
New York 8 wins, 27 goals • Montreal 4 wins, 19 goals • Ties 2
All-Time Playoff Meetings:
New York 0 wins, 0 goals • Montreal 1 win, 1 goal • Ties 0
All-Time in New York (7 meetings):
New York 7 wins, 20 goals • Montreal 0 wins, 7 goals • Ties 0
2016 Meetings (4 meetings):
MTL 3, NY 0 (Mar. 12); NY 3, MTL 1 (Aug 13); NY 1, MTL 0 (Sept. 24); MTL 1, NY 0 (Oct. 30)