The Vancouver Whitecaps will look to complete a clean sweep of their Canadian rivals when they travel to Stade Saputo on Saturday to take on CF Montreal.

Ever since the COVID-19 schedule led to the Caps playing their Canadian brethren seemingly on a loop, Vancouver has had a lot of success against Montreal. That includes a 5-0 win in the league last season and, of course, their triumph in the Voyageurs Cup final.

But Montreal have brought in yet another new manager and a raft of new players since then and Laurent Courtois first season in Quebec has largely been successful, even as the front office remains a dumpster fire and his best player, Mathieu Choiniere, has asked for a transfer.

Indeed, the season started quite brightly for Montreal, who went on a tear on their season opening road trip. Things have since come back to earth. While Montreal lost only one match in June, they also lost only one match as well, though they picked up several draws against top opposition, including Real Salt Lake and New York Red Bulls.

There are signs of progress for Montreal but there is a reason this team got its best results when it was playing a more defensive style at the beginning of the season. Statistically they are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, leading MLS in expected goals conceded and they sit near the bottom in actual goals conceded. That’s a problem, as Courtois hews close to the Wilfried Nancy school of high-octane, possession-based soccer that has tended to leave Montreal open at the back.

The fact that Montreal ranks towards the bottom in touches in the attacking third shows they probably aren’t there yet. But in their recent win over the Union, they had a season-high 60% possession (shout-out to Matt Doyle’s most recent column for pointing this out) and showed clear signs that they are moving in the direction Courtois wants.

Sunusi Ibrahim remains Montreal’s most dependable scorer. Ariel Lassiter, who has also been a reliable source of chance creation, should be back from Copa America duty with Costa Rica as well, providing a further lift to the attack.

Montreal loves to push their wingbacks forward, meaning they will likely be meeting Vanni Sartini’s play style head on. Raheem Edwards has largely risen to the occasion, as has Ruan, whose move from DC United has seemingly paid dividends for Montreal.

Assuming Lassiter returns from international duty, it seems Courtois will have his first choice team available except for the injured Mason Toye.

Meanwhile, for Vancouver, Andres Cubas is back with the squad after Paraguay flamed out of Copa America, though it is unclear if he will start. Sam Adekugbe and Damir Kreilach won’t feature, while Tristan Blackmon is a question mark after missing a couple of matches.

That means Vanni Sartini will still have relatively few depth options if he wanted to rotate after a match in the midweek. Fafa Picault seems likely to cycle back in, as does Javain Brown and Ryan Raposo. Otherwise it may well largely be a reprise from Wednesday’s win over Minnesota.

That performance showed the Caps at their best and at their worst. Montreal’s capacity to score plenty of goals means that Vancouver will likely be unable to get away with the type of performance they turned in the other day.

On the other hand, this is the type of backline setup that Brian White and Ryan Gauld feast on. The fact that Montreal loves to lean on attacking fullbacks means that transition opportunities will be there and you wish the Caps had Ali Ahmed to pair with them to take full advantage.

While the Caps did themselves some favours with their midweek win, which saw them zoom up the Western Conference standings, a result on the road here, on short rest, would be a big boost as well. While Montreal is dangerous and remains alive and well in the race for the playoffs in the East, the Caps, on paper, are a better team that should be able to take advantage of their defensive deficiencies. But, much like any inter-Canada derby, you should always expect the unexpected.