In a matchup with huge playoff implications, CF Montreal and the Chicago Fire return to MLS action on Saturday when they square off at Saputo Stadium. With five matches remaining, Le CFM are two points below the Eastern Conference playoff line following a 2-2 draw in midweek versus the New England Revolution, with the Fire four points back of a post-season berth after losing 1-0 to Nashville SC.

Down by two goals after 45 minutes, Laurent Courtois saw a desperate Montreal side claw their way back to earn a point Wednesday, just their sixth from a losing position in MLS this year. To this stage of the season, Montreal have dropped 11 points in the league when scoring the opening goal, which could have them up to sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Three of their remaining five matches in this competition occur at Saputo Stadium, where this team have won five times domestically in 2024, four fewer than a season ago. On Saturday, they have a chance to do something they have yet to do in this competition all year, win consecutive matches at Saputo Stadium.

Given how poor this team have been defensively throughout the campaign, it is an achievement to be in the hunt for a post-season berth, conceding the most goals in the Eastern Conference (61). Le CFM are undefeated in their last six domestic home fixtures versus the Fire, failing to concede in three successive home games against them.

The playoff hopes for Chicago are fading after this team lost for the third time in their last four regular-season affairs on Wednesday. With four matches remaining, former Montreal manager Frank Klopas has guided the Fire to 29 points, and they have five teams to overtake in their quest to make the playoffs.

Chicago are winless in three successive domestic encounters, winning just one of their previous seven matches in this competition (1-0 versus FC Cincinnati). The Fire have claimed just two victories domestically in 2024, which, along with Montreal, is the joint-fewest in the Eastern Conference this year. Nine times in MLS play this year, Chicago have failed to find the back of the net, three of which occurred away from home.

They have a 100% record versus Canadian opposition in the 2024 regular season, defeating Toronto in mid-June (4-1) and claiming a dramatic 4-3 victory at home to Montreal in March. Earlier this week, Montreal were missing Lassi Lappalainen due to a knock, Joel Waterman was sidelined after suffering an injury with Canada during the international window and Joaquin Sosa remains questionable because of muscle discomfort.

Despite scoring in their previous weekend fixture against Charlotte FC, Bryce Duke was an unused substitute on Wednesday, while Caden Clark, who also scored in that encounter, began on the bench against the Revs. Tom Pearce scored his first career MLS goal on Wednesday, with the equaliser coming courtesy of Nathan-Dylan Saliba, his first of the regular season.

The Fire were without Andrew Gutman in their previous match, with an apparent leg issue, Rafael Czichos sat out due to a knock and Carlos Teran was sidelined because of a leg injury. Mauricio Pineda remains doubtful as he is recovering from a leg injury, while Chase Gasper is still dealing with a hamstring strain.

Chris Brady made his 29th appearance between the sticks, one fewer than his career high in a single campaign, and Fabian Herbers can become the 13th player in club history to collect 150 caps for the Fire should he see the field this weekend.

CF Montreal possible starting lineup:Sirois; Campbell, Corbo, Alvarez; Marshall-Rutty, Piette, Saliba, Edwards; Clark, Opoku; Coccaro

Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:Brady; Souquet, Dean, Omsberg; Haile-Selassie, Herbers, Gimenez, Acosta; Lassiter, Mueller; Koutsias

While neither side have been all that convincing in recent outings, Montreal have shown a little more fighting spirit this month, while the Fire have not shown us much in recent outings. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

CF Montreal will look to extend their unbeaten streak to three games and keep their postseason hopes alive when against the visiting Chicago Fire on Saturday. Montreal (7-12-10, 31 points) is currently 13th in the Eastern Conference, but just two points below the MLS Cup Playoff line. Montreal erased a 2-0 halftime deficit to salvage a point in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution. "I thought they were impressive," said Montreal coach Laurent Courtois. "Is it perfect? No. But they were impressive in the sense of covering the gaps and compensating for their teammates, and the tracking of the individual defending was impressive. A couple of good, quality actions, too."

Sunusi Ibrahim has paced Montreal this season with six goals in 23 matches, while Josef Martinez has eight goal contributions (five goals and three assists) in 18 appearances. Saturday concludes the season series between the two clubs. Chicago and Montreal met in the Windy City on March 16, with the Fire scoring twice after the 90-minute mark for a 4-3 victory.

The Fire (7-15-8, 29 points) have just one win in their last six matches (1-4-1) and enter Saturday's action in 14th in the East, two points back of Montreal. Chicago fell 1-0 to Nashville SC on Wednesday. With four matches remaining, the Fire are four points below the playoff line. "They scored the goal, but we still had the whole second half where we dominated. We had the ball, but the speed of play had to be better. When you have 10 guys behind the ball, then you have to move the ball quicker," said Chicago coach Frank Klopas. "It's always difficult when you're on the road and you give up the first goal."

Hugo Cuypers has a team-leading 10 goals in 29 matches this season and Brian Gutierrez has nine goal contributions (six goals and three assists) in 28 outings for Chicago.

Chicago Fire head coach Frank Klopas was left to rue missed opportunities in their 1-0 defeat to Nashville SC in their last MLS encounter. The Fire travel to face an in-form CF Montreal side at the Stade Saputo this weekend, a ground they have found relative success at over the past couple of seasons.

Klopas’ side currently occupy 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings but are four points from the playoffs. Sam Surridge’s only goal compounded Chicago to a 15th loss of the season, and Klopas explained how his side’s lacklustre approach cost them in midweek. "They scored the goal, but we still had a whole second half where we dominated the ball, but the speed of play had to be better," said Klopas. "When you have 10 guys behind the ball you have to move the ball quicker. They needed to do it in those moments, and we needed to get crosses in but we didn’t. It’s always difficult on the road but look who the first goal came. I think we could have done better all round as a team. We had our moments but didn’t take advantage of them."

Montreal, meanwhile, came from two goals down to salvage a point in their 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution last time out, leaving them a place ahead of this weekend’s opponents. One of Montreal’s scorers was new arrival Tom Pearce after making the move to the MLS in July from League One side Wigan Athletic. The 26-year-old’s first career goal in the division saw him become the first player from the United Kingdom to score a regular season goal in MLS for Montreal.

And Pearce believes that despite Montreal being two points behind the playoffs, they can make it to the right side of the line in the final five games of the campaign. "Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn't in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point," Pearce said. "We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game. Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best."

MONTREAL - CF Montréal will close out a three-game week with a clash against Chicago Fire FC on Saturday at 7:30pm EDT at Stade Saputo (MLS Season Pass, BPM Sports, TSN 690). You can still buy tickets for the game here! 🔖 The Montrealers will be looking to claim seven points from a possible nine this week following a 2-1 win over Charlotte FC last Saturday and a 2-2 comeback draw in Massachusetts. With five games to play in the regular season, Laurent Courtois' squad remains in the thick of the playoff race. Three of these crucial games will be played at Stade Saputo. The Bleu-blanc-noir is currently 13th in the Eastern Conference, two points from ninth place. The seven teams between 9th and 15th in the East are separated by just five points.

Montreal has an overall record of 12-9-7 (40 goals scored, 39 goals conceded) against the Fire. At home, the Bleu-blanc-noir has a 9-2-4 record (24 goals scored, 15 goals conceded). Frank Klopas' side is also in the midst of a three-game week. The Fire first defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-1 at Soldier Field last Saturday, before losing 1-0 at Nashville SC midweek. The Montrealers will be reunited with a former teammate in Ariel Lassiter, who left for the Windy City by way of a trade on August 14. In 45 games over two seasons, the Costa Rican collected four goals and nine assists.

Defender Raheem Edwards is just 23 minutes shy of the 10,000-minute mark in MLS. The Canadian has split his 10-season MLS career between CF Montréal, Toronto FC, Chicago Fire FC, Minnesota United FC, LAFC and LA Galaxy. In two stints with CF Montréal, Edwards logged 1,975 minutes in 34 games.