Venue: Stade Saputo (Saputo Stadium), Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Broadcast on Apple TV; some regional coverage possible via RDS/TSN).
Current Weather Forecast (Montreal)
Saturday is expected to be mostly clear to sunny with mild conditions. High around 60–61°F (15–16°C) during the day, cooling to the low-to-mid 40s°F (~5–8°C) by evening kickoff. Light winds (northeast around 4–9 km/h or light), very low precipitation chance (near 0–5%), and dry air. Comfortable for spectators with a light jacket recommended for the cooler evening temperatures.
Current Player Rosters
Columbus Crew (Interim/Head Coach: Laurent Courtois):
Goalkeepers: Patrick Schulte (primary), Nicholas Hagen, Evan Bush.
Defenders: Sean Zawadzki (captain), Malte Amundsen, Steven Moreira, Eric Bailly, Mohamed Farsi, Brooks Lennon, Andrés Herrera, Cesar Ruvalcaba, others.
Midfielders: Taha Habroune, Brais Méndez, Dylan Chambost, André Gomes, Lautaro Giaccone, Amar Sejdić, others.
Forwards: Josef Martínez, Gonzalo Tapia, Jamal Thiaré, Santiago Rodríguez, Chase Adams, Anass Zaroury (recent addition in some reports), others. (Note: Squad has seen turnover with new signings.)
CF Montréal (Interim Head Coach: Philippe Eullaffroy):
Goalkeepers: Thomas Gillier / Sébastian Breza (rotation), Emil Gazdov.
Defenders: Brayan Ceballos, Jalen Neal, Efraín Morales, Luca Petrasso, Bode Hidalgo, Dawid Bugaj, Brandan Craig, others.
Midfielders: Samuel Piette (captain), Victor Loturi, Matty Longstaff, Wikelman Carmona, Hennadiy Synchuk, Noah Streit, Frankie Amaya, Dani Pereira, others.
Forwards: Prince Owusu (standout scorer), Alexis Sánchez, Dante Sealy, Daniel Ríos, others.
Listed Injury/Suspension Reports
Columbus Crew: Wessam Abou Ali (knee/ACL-related, out long-term), Sékou Bangoura (ankle, out), Rudy Camacho (foot, out). Andrés Herrera listed as questionable (back) in some reports. Core attackers and midfield largely available otherwise.
CF Montréal: Dani Pereira (lower body, out), Brayan Vera (lower body, out). Matty Longstaff faced a yellow-card accumulation suspension in recent reports (status to confirm closer to match). Limited other major absences noted; Prince Owusu fully available and in form.
Recent Team Forms
Columbus Crew: Mixed-to-poor — L 0-1 vs New York Red Bulls, L 1-2 at D.C. United, W 3-0 vs Colorado, L 1-3 vs New England, L 2-3 at Nashville (earlier). They show occasional scoring bursts but defensive vulnerability (concede ~1.7 goals per game) and sit near the bottom of the East.
CF Montréal: Poor recent MLS form but boosted by Canadian Championship success — L 0-1 at Colorado, L 1-2 vs Charlotte, L 0-2 at Philadelphia, L 1-7 at Inter Miami, D 2-2 vs LA Galaxy. They recently advanced to the Canadian Championship final with a strong aggregate win over Vancouver (Owusu scoring key goals). MLS record remains weak with a poor goal difference (~-20).
Series History / Head-to-Head
Montreal won the most recent meeting 2-1 away at Columbus on August 19, 2026 (goals by Prince Owusu and Noah Streit; Columbus replied via an own goal). Historical results between the sides are competitive, with Columbus often holding an edge in earlier seasons, but recent encounters have been tight and low-to-moderate scoring. Overall series is relatively even in recent years with home advantage often mattering.
Key Player vs. Player Matchups
Prince Owusu (MTL, ~13 goals + assists leader) vs. Columbus center backs (Zawadzki/Amundsen/Bailly/Moreira) and Patrick Schulte: Owusu is Montréal’s clear focal point and has been clinical; Columbus’s backline must limit service and physical battles.
Brais Méndez / Taha Habroune / Josef Martínez (CLB attack/midfield) vs. Montréal defense (Ceballos/Neal/Morales) and goalkeeper: Columbus relies on creativity from Méndez and Habroune plus clinical finishing; Montréal has conceded freely at times.
Midfield battle: Piette/Loturi/Longstaff (control and disruption) vs. Habroune/Chambost/Gomes (possession and progression). Montréal’s home energy and set pieces could factor against Columbus’s possession style.
Fullback/wing dynamics: Farsi/Lennon overlapping for Columbus vs. Montréal wide players like Sealy/Carmona/Streit.
Betting Trends
Both Teams to Score is competitive. Trends show frequent goals in these matchups and both teams struggling for consistency; home underdogs or draws have value in similar low-table Eastern games.
MATCH ODDS
Columbus Crew SC + 168
CF Montreal Impact + 146
Draw + 271
Over 3 – 112 Under 3 – 114
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Friday, September 18, 2026
