2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #15
Atlético Ottawa vs. Valour FC
May 5, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET
TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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It’s déjà vu in the capital this weekend, as Atlético Ottawa host Valour FC in a Canadian Premier League match on Sunday just a few days after hosting them in the Canadian Championship on Wednesday.

The visitors will be hoping that this match isn’t quite a perfect copy of the midweek meeting, though. In that cup tie, Ottawa set a club and competition record by routing Valour 7-0 to move into the quarter-finals. Braces from Alberto Zapater, Ollie Bassett and Rubén del Campo plus one from Ballou Tabla led Atleti’s attacking explosion, as they demonstrated just how dangerous they can be this year.

As they turn their attention back to league play, Ottawa want to keep that momentum going. They remain undefeated in the CPL after three matchweeks, with two wins and a draw. Last weekend, they took advantage of an early red card to beat Halifax Wanderers FC 3-1 away from home. So, at this early stage of the year, Atlético find themselves second in the table with seven points, two back of first-place Forge.

Valour, meanwhile, are seeking immediate redemption after that humbling 7-0 loss. They still have yet to record a point this season, with losses to Vancouver FC, Pacific FC and Forge FC, although they looked progressively better in each of those matches and could well have come away with a draw or more in Hamilton. Wednesday night in Ottawa was a definite setback in that progress, as they were beaten soundly in almost every aspect of the game, but setting things right immediately could be the perfect way to get back on track.

The historical series between these two sides has been quite even, though Valour have a slight advantage with six wins to Ottawa’s five, with one draw. However, two of the players who used to cause grief for Atleti while with the Winnipeg club have swapped to the other side of this matchup, as Matteo de Brienne and Rayane Yesli now star for Ottawa. Noah Verhoeven, meanwhile, is on loan at Valour from the Ottawa side, and will look to do damage against his once and possibly future team.

The injury report on both sides also seems to be improving; Ottawa’s sole concern remains Kevin Dos Santos, who has missed the last two games and sounds like he will be out for an extended period of time. For Valour, meanwhile, one positive on Wednesday was that Raphael Ohin and Tass Mourdoukoutas were fit enough to make the bench for the first time this year, so they might be in line for a first appearance of 2024, while Roberto Alarcón is days away too according to Phil Dos Santos. Kian Williams, meanwhile, remains out.

So, have Atlético Ottawa found the best way to do consistent damage to Valour? Or was Wednesday a blip for the Winnipeggers, who will be back with a vengeance on Sunday?

All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Set-pieces could be a story again: In their 7-0 win over Valour on Wednesday, Atlético Ottawa did a significant amount of their damage from set-pieces, with both Alberto Zapater goals coming off corners, in addition to Ollie Bassett’s corner kick. It’s not the first time Ottawa have been dangerous from a dead ball this year either; Amer Didic got his head on a corner to score against Cavalry, and Manny Aparicio’s goal against York United was a second-phase cross after a set-piece as well. Valour’s defending of corners was very poor on Wednesday, so Phillip Dos Santos will have made it a key priority for his side not to concede from those situations again. “It comes down to analyzing the individual,” Dos Santos said. “When you see a goal you say, ‘How did this guy cope with the situation,’ and if someone doesn’t do his job because he doesn’t think it’s important enough — you’re going to be in the marking or blocking role, or the zonal role, and your feet are not moving, you’re not ready to attack the ball or defend the space… it’s about doing a job.”

• Valour out for redemption after lopsided defeat: Whenever a team suffers a heavy defeat, the last thing they want to do is come out flat in their next game — especially when the next game is against the very same opponent. Valour will have spent these next few days in Ottawa visualizing their return to the TD Place pitch; when the whistle blows, they’ll have an opportunity to erase some of the sour memory of Wednesday night. The first 15 minutes of this match especially are likely to see Valour come out with intensity and press high, looking to snatch an early goal and set the tone.

• Transition in wide areas to dictate flow: Valour’s strongest moments of this season have been when they’ve played aggressively down the flanks, where a wingback like Themi Antonoglou can get forward directly and whip crosses toward the danger areas. However, Ottawa also like to get their fullbacks high up the pitch, especially if it’s Matteo de Brienne and Kris Twardek in those positions. That means both sides might be able to find some space in behind in the attacking third, if they can win a ball and play it quickly up the touchline to launch a fullback counter. Atleti will have options to dictate just how open those wide areas are, though; they could play a slightly more defensive-minded fullback pair if Maxim Tissot and Dani Morer slot in.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Twardek, Didic, Singh, De Brienne; Sissoko, Zapater, Bassett, Aparicio, Tabla; Del Campo

Valour FC: Viscosi; Campbell, Samake, Chantzopoulos; Sukunda, Sánchez, Ohin, Antonoglou; Hanson, Hundal, Faria

ALL-TIME SERIES

Atlético Ottawa wins 5 || Valour FC wins: 6 || Draws: 3

Last meeting:

May 1, 2024 — Atlético Ottawa 7-0 Valour FC (CanChamp)

KEY QUOTES

“[Valour] are going to look for a reaction. They’re going to look to improve the performance that they did, and we have to be ready again, because I expect it’s a team probably with similar faces but a completely different mentality, trying to react to last game. I don’t expect a game that’s going to be very similar.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González

“We’re going to start separating the adults from the kids. For me, it’s going to come down to how we react on the field. I come out, I protect my players, I defend them, but when we go back and we review the match, if our mindset is the same, the outcome is going to be the same. Not taking away credit from Ottawa, but when I go back to the game, we played scared. We froze in too many moments. We forgot to do what’s important, which is to put up a fight.” — Valour FC head coach Phillip Dos Santos