2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #64
Atlético Ottawa vs. Cavalry FC
August 3, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT
TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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For perhaps the first time since the 2024 Canadian Premier League season kicked off, Atlético Ottawa are facing some adversity as they host Cavalry FC on Saturday at TD Place Stadium.

Having topped the table since Matchweek 4, Atleti saw their league lead slip to just two points after a humbling 4-1 loss to second-place York United this past weekend at York Lions Stadium. They also have just a pair of wins in their past seven matches, and only one home victory in their past five at TD Place Stadium.

If anyone truly understands what they are going through, however, it is their opponent on Saturday. Cavalry spent the final ten matchweeks of the 2023 season in the league’s top spot, and despite ultimately winning the league by 13 points they know the difficulty and pressure that comes with leading from the front.

“We’ve been at the top of the table quite often, it’s hard because there’s an expectation,” said Cavalry FC manager Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “I think what Ottawa is going through right now is exactly that.”

Despite their struggles, particularly in picking up wins this season, Cavalry FC come into the match with plenty of confidence after a 1-0 away victory over Vancouver FC last Friday which put them back above the playoff line. They sit eight points behind Ottawa right now in the table, but know this is a chance to really announce themselves as regular season title contenders during the second half of the campaign.

“We’re looking forward to the game because it’s an opportunity to bridge the gap to the lead,” said Wheeldon Jr. “I remember at some point last year, Pacific had an 11-point lead on us, and we obviously end up winning by 13. So leads can change, and different leaders can come through it.”

Leads haven’t lasted in the two meetings between the sides so far this season, both of which have ended in 1-1 draws. The most recent meeting, on June 21, saw a second-minute goal by Tobias Warschewski cancelled out by an Alberto Zapater header. The sides also met in Ottawa back on April 20, with Didić opening the scoring this time before a 90th-minute equalizer on a Kris Twardek own goal.

It was the second consecutive trip to the nation’s capital that has seen late drama for Cavalry. On September 2, 2023, a 97th-minute winner from William Akio gave the Cavs a famous 2-1 victory in Ottawa en route to lifting the 2023 CPL Shield as regular season winners.

That was actually their first and only victory in the capital, as they have three losses and two draws in their other five trips to TD Place Stadium. In total, the Cavs have just three wins in 14 all-time meetings between the clubs.

Atlético Ottawa will be without key midfielder Manny Aparicio for the match as he is suspended through yellow card accumulation. The 28-year-old leads all Atlético Ottawa players in minutes so far this season, with 1,363, so he will undoubtedly be a big miss on Saturday.

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

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Ali Musse returns as Cavalry attack getting more weapons: A big reason for Cavalry FC’s dip in form this season have scored just 16 goals in 16 matches this season, 10 fewer than they had at this stage last season. One of the underlying causes, however, has been injuries, and over the past few weeks the club has gotten significantly healthier and deeper up front. On top of this comes perhaps the biggest news of all, Ali Musse has travelled with the club to Ottawa for Saturday’s match. The 2023 Canadian Premier League Players’ Player of the year has not played a CPL match since May 3. Having him back, healthy and firing again for the Cavs could be a gamechanger in their 2024 campaign. “He’s like a new signing, he’s only been in four games so far this year,” said Wheeldon Jr. “So if you put it in a different way, it’s like signing the Players’ Player of the Year and bringing them back, the impact that he could have is exponential.”

• Atlético Ottawa looking to shore up defensive issues: If there is one area where Atlético Ottawa’s recent struggles have been most evident, it has been defensively. The capital club have given up seven goals in their last five matches, after allowing just nine in their first eleven matches of the campaign. The past two matches are the first time all season that they have given up multiple goals in back-to-back matches. For a team that has long built its identity on being defensively solid, this is something they will quickly want to reverse, starting Saturday against the league’s best defensive team, Cavalry FC.  “We have to reduce the moments in which we defend,” said Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González. “You do this by having more possession. If we have more of the ball, we’re going to defend less. If we defend less, we’re going to concede less”.

• With Aparicio suspended, can Bassett continue fine form: There will be a big absence in the middle of the park for Atlético Ottawa on Saturday, as one of their most important players this season, Manny Aparicio, misses out through suspension. However, this could be a significant opportunity for another player to step up in his place, and perhaps will lead to more of a reliance on 2023 CPL Golden Boot winner Ollie Bassett. The 26-year-old hasn’t necessarily matched his offensive contributions from last season so far, but has been in great form of late. Bassett scored a screamer against York United last time out, forced an own goal early against Valour FC, and was arguably Ottawa’s best player the week before that in a win over Vancouver FC. With likely more responsibility of Saturday, look for a big performance from Bassett. “It’s true that [Manny is] a very important player for us, but I think that if the team is deep in one area of the field it is in the midfield, so I’m not very worried about that, because I’m sure that the player who plays in this position is going to do a great job,” said González.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Atlético Ottawa: Yesli; Twardek, Didić, Singh, de Brienne; Morer, Zapater, Sissoko, Bassett; Tabla, del Campo 

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Kamdem, Field, Klomp, Aird; Gutiérrez, Trafford; Henry, Camargo, Wähling; Warschewski 

ALL-TIME SERIES

Atlético Ottawa wins: 8 || Cavalry FC wins 3 || Draws: 3

Last meeting:

June 21, 2024 — Cavalry FC 1-1 Atlético Ottawa 

KEY QUOTES

“The idea is that every adversity you have to embrace it and this makes you better. You know, we knew that in some moment of the season, things like this can happen. At the end of the day, it’s not normal to be 20 rounds in the first position, and this being a Walt Disney film, you know this is a film in which there are tough moments, and we have to be prepared for those.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González

“I don’t think Ottawa need any motivation to play against us. They’ve always rose their game for us, which, it wouldn’t be fun it if wasn’t hard. And I think that’s the way we see this second half of the season, brand new challenge.” — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.