The New York Red Bulls look to maintain their unbeaten start under interim manager Troy Lesesne as they host CF Montreal at Red Bull Arena.
Since being appointed to replace Gerhard Struber on May 8, New York has gone unbeaten in his three matches in charge without allowing a goal, shutouts against D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup and NYCFC in league play was followed by a goalless draw in Toronto.
The Red Bulls have gone 329 minutes without conceding a goal as they face a Montreal side that had won five of six matches before suffering a heavy 3-0 defeat to Cincinnati the last time out.
Montreal have also been stingy against New York in recent encounters, allowing one goal or fewer in five successive matches against their Northeast rivals.
Team news
Kyle Duncan and Steven Sserwadda remain sidelined with knee while Frankie Amaya (sprained ankle) Serge Ngoma (hamstring strain) Luquinhas (adductor) and Lewis Morgan (hip) have all been ruled out.
Daniel Edelman is representing the United States Under-20 team at the World Cup, while Dante Vanzeir, Cristian Casseres Jr., Sean Nealis and Andres Reyes return from their respective suspensions.
Mason Toye sat out in midweek due to a left knee injury, Samuel Piette is still recovering from an adductor strain and starting goalkeeper James Pantemis remains sidelined with a shoulder issue.
Predicted lineups
New York Red Bulls: Coronel; D. Nealis, S. Nealis, Reyes, Tolkin; Carmona, Casseres, Yearwood; Fernandez; Vanzeir, Burke
CF Montreal: Sirois; Corbo, Camacho, Waterman; Herrera, Choiniere, Wanyama, Lappalainen; Lassiter; Duke, Offor
Ones to watch
Dante Vanzeir (New York Red Bulls)
The Belgian returns from a six-match ban after using a racial slur in New York's match against San Jose and he is expected to start in the striker position.
All I will say is that after Vanzeir's conduct in that match against the Earthquakes, it will take a lot for the 26-year-old to get back in the good graces of the Red Bulls fanbase.
Jonathan Sirois (CF Montreal)
Much like his side, the Montreal goalkeeper had a difficult start to the season, but his upturn in form has coincided with the club's turnaround.
Sirois has recorded four clean sheets in his last five matches, including a 2-0 victory over New York, making 15 saves in that stretch.
Previous meetings
This is the second matchup of the season between the two sides with Montreal emerging as 2-0 winners last month.
The Canadian side were gifted the opener as New York defender Andres Reyes put the ball in the back of his own net with 25 minutes played.
Montreal were then reduced to ten men as Ilias Iladis made extra contact in the 65th minute, which saw him pick up a straight red card.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the hosts ensured their first victory in a month in second-half stoppage time when Mathieu Choiniere converted on a rebound of his own shot after leading a two-on-one break.
How to watch
The match will be streamed nationally on Apple TV + with Eric Krakauer as the play-by-play man and Lloyd Sam serving as analyst.
Kickoff is set for 7:30pm Eastern time.