New York City FC

Back from a majorly disheartening loss to rival New Jersey, NYCFC take their talents north of the border, seeking to take the return fixture against the Impact. The last time these two met, City had the better of it, taking a 3-1 win in front of the home crowd thanks to Villa, Mix, and Poku. They’ll be without Mix this time, as he spends the next month with the national team in the Gold Cup (USA!), but still look to get the better of a Montreal team that are coming off a loss two weeks ago and a draw last week against Philadelphia. With Mix gone, and Lampard not yet here, the midfield will take an unfamiliar form. Fans will surely be unhappy with the performance of Grabavoy last week, but Kreis may have no choice but to put him in central mid with Jacobson. You’ll likely get your weekly dose of McNamara as well, and likely some Ballouchy too. This is a team in need of a bounce-back, and my gut tells me that bounce back they will.

L’Impact de Montreal

The Impact of Montreal come into the match on the exact same run of form as NYCFC in their last five, 3-2-1, but have struggled in their last two. They performed poorly in Yankee Stadium, but they are a team notorious for road struggles and don’t have that same issue at home. Making life more difficult, however, is the absence of Patrice Bernier, who will have to sit this one out after two yellows in the previous match against Philadelphia. Montreal sits a point above NYCFC in the standings, but has played significantly fewer games. They’ll want to prevent a New York win on their turf, they certainly don’t want to be jumped in the points column.

Match Facts

• NYCFC will be without Mix Diskerud for all of July, as he goes for gold in the Gold Cup with the USMNT.
• New York and Montreal will meet again shortly, as they finish their season series August 1st at Yankee Stadium.
• Montreal scores more frequently than NYCFC, but also concedes at a much higher rate, expect goals aplenty.
• David Villa enters as the match-ups leading scorer, he has 6 goals this season.

Injury/Discipline (O=Out, D=Doubtful, Q=Questionable, P=Probable, U=Unknown)

Montreal: Bernier (Suspended), Lopez (O), Mapp (O), Porter (O), Cooper (O), Camara (U), Miller (U)

New York City FC: John (O), Taylor (O), Williams (U), Brandt (U), Meara (U), Shelton (U)

Discipline: Suspended- Warnings- Watson-Siriboe (NYCFC), Wingert (NYCFC), Hernandez (NYCFC), Romero (MON)

Predictions/Projections

Projected Formation: 4-4-2

Projected Starting 11: Saunders, Allen, Facey, Hernandez, Calle, Grabavoy, Jacobson, Ballouchy, McNamara, Villa, Mullins

Prediction: A win here means jumping both Montreal and Philly in the standings and entering 7th, I like our odds. 3-2 NYCFC.

Be sure to follow Andres at @TheAndresSoto and myself @Coltons13 on twitter for everything NYCFC Fan Podcast related and NYCFC related! If you enjoyed this, please check out my own blog, Great Balls of Fire! Let’s go, NYCFC!

Photo Credit: NYCFC (www.nycfc.com)