Four questions with Elias of The Ball is Round Montreal

With the Philadelphia Union‘s third-straight win in MLS play coming against Charlotte F.C. on Wednesday, the group takes on C.F. Montreal at home on Saturday, June 3 at 7:30 p.m.

To get a closer look at the French Canadians, we reached out to Elias and our pals at The Ball is Round Montreal podcast.

Philadelphia Soccer Now: It’s been a rough start for Montreal, who are currently sitting at 10th in the East. What’s gone wrong for the group?

Elias: It’s not that it’s gone wrong, but more so the culmination of many factors. In the offseason, the team travels between their training center and olympic stadium when they actually use the turf pitch there before going to Florid for about a month and training on grass fields there. That’s led to many injuries to key players and makes developing a daily rhythm a bit more complicated. In addition to these challenges, the majority of their opening games are on the road, which makes life even more difficult with an injury-riddled squad and a new coach with a new system. Since they recovered from their poor start, we’ve seen a much more representative output of what to expect from Montreal who are still battling injuries to key players and learning to play this new style of Hernan Losada.

PSN: Last time the Union faced the French Canadians, Montreal won 3-2. Has anything changed since that match?

E: I think both teams have improved massively. Philadelphia is no longer forced to juggle three competitions and can now narrow their focus which has shown in their results of late. On the other hand, Montreal has become more sure of themselves and seeming disconnect between tactics and players that was visible during the beginning of the season has been almost completely bridged. Their slow start has almost been mitigated and are getting closer and closer to a .500 record –

PSN: Tell me about Montreal’s recent form, how have they looked across the past few matches?

E: Montreal is in the midst of one of the most congested runs of games in club history. Across all competitions, they’ve played nine games in a month and still have three more games in the next ten days before the international break. They’ve been largely successful during this run, but fatigue is starting to show and they’re beginning to lose a step, leading to increasingly important substitutions to maintain the energy needed to get points. –

PSN: Will Montreal be missing anyone important? What are your score and lineup predictions?

E: Hernan Losada has not shied away from the fact that the Canadian Championship is an enormous opportunity and a top priority. Given that the final will be on the road against an in-form Vancouver Whitecaps just three days after the game against the Union, I would not be surprised to see some of the players with the heaviest usage get some rest or have a minutes restriction in Philadelphia given the game that follows. The team will also be without key players Romell Quioto and Samuel Piette who have been battling lower-body injuries all season and are still out indefinitely. There is also Rudy Camacho who was forced to leave the game via stretcher against DC United after colliding with Christian Benteke, but Losada assured that he’s feeling better.