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The Montreal Impact are facing off against the Philadelphia Union at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex tonight at 7:00 PM (ET).
The preseason has drawn many positives for the Impact; the chemistry developing between Taider and Piatti, the defensive solidity of Diallo, and the surprising influence Edwards and Petrasso are having. Meanwhile, the Impact also has a few problems that need to be fixed, first and foremost their forwards (mainly Mancosu and Jackson) have been unable to be a threat up to now. It will be interesting to see if they begin establishing themselves in the lineup or if Garde can find a solution to make them more dominant.
Last season, the Impact was able to walk away with at least one point in every match up against the Union last season. In their history, the Impact have only lost three times to Philadelphia with seven victories and six draws in sixteen match ups.
Players matchup
Anthony Jackson-Hamel: While it is obvious that Piatti and Taider will be dominant it would be interesting to see if Jackson can step up in tonight’s game. In his last game against the Union he was extremely dominant scoring two goals off the bench which completed the Impacts comeback.
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CJ Sapong: Always a dominant player in the league he is always a force for the Union every season (last season he scored 16 goals). It will be interesting to see how much he is used given that it is preseason game.
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Honorable mention: Andre Blake, this young goalkeeper is making a name for himself in the league and he always pulls out some miraculous saves every game. Blake has
It will be interesting to see how the lineup is set up by Garde given that we are getting closer to the beginning of the season. Some players have established themselves well into the lineup although some are still fighting to get in the starting 11 and even in the 18. With one week and a half to go before the start of the season it will be good to see the Impact build momentum before heading to Vancouver.