2022 CPL Regular Season — Match #112
Atlético Ottawa vs. York United
October 9, 2022 at 6 p.m. ET
TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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The 2022 regular season in the Canadian Premier League reaches its conclusion on Sunday night in the capital, as Atlético Ottawa and York United square off in Match 112.

Plenty is on the line for Ottawa in this contest, as they enter the weekend atop the CPL table with 48 points. They’re keen on securing that first position and winning the regular season championship, which they would do with a victory on Sunday.

Atleti come into this match riding a club-record eight-game unbeaten streak. Last Saturday, they went to the Maritimes and took three points against HFX Wanderers FC, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Maxim Tissot and Zakaria Bahous. The weekend before that, they downed Cavalry FC 3-1 at Spruce Meadows to lock up their playoff spot.

Bahous is likely to get the nod in the starting lineup again, with Ottawa still needing another 27 U-21 minutes to reach the 2,000 threshold and be eligible for the playoffs. Atleti will, however, be without two key producers on Sunday, as Ollie Bassett and Miguel Acosta sit out with suspensions.

York, while technically eliminated from playoff contention, will still nonetheless be eager to finish the season on a positive note. They enter the weekend sitting sixth in the table with a 9-6-12 record and 33 points, having won five of their last eight. Their run through September was impressive enough to earn Martin Nash the CPL’s Manager of the Month nod, with Mo Babouli being named Player of the Month for his four goals and two assists.

Unfortunately for York, Babouli’s status for this weekend remains questionable after he missed last weekend’s match at Forge. The Nine Stripes lost that match 2-0 and certainly missed Babouli’s attacking spark, so they’ll hope he can return for the final match.

Last time these sides met, Ottawa went to York Lions Stadium and won 3-0, with Bassett and Ballou Tabla both scoring penalties and Brian Wright adding another goal. The prior two meetings were draws, one each in Ottawa and York.

Atleti could win their first title in club history this weekend; York will be hoping to prevent it.

Make your match picks prior to kickoff at canpl.ca/predictor for a chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the 2021 CPL Final! To learn more about ComeOn!, click here.

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

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Regular season title, home field advantage on the line: No matter what happens in other games this weekend, Atlético Ottawa will win the 2022 regular season championship if they win this game. They could, of course, still lock up that first spot regardless if Pacific (46 points) stumble in their match at Cavalry on Saturday night — a Pacific loss or draw means Ottawa finish first regardless. For coach Carlos González, the importance of winning on Sunday is twofold: Not only do they want to lock up first place, they want to secure home field advantage for the playoffs all the way through to the final. TD Place has become a very difficult place for opposing sides to play, and Ottawa would very much like to give themselves a chance to win a playoff title on home turf.

• York seek quality in attack even if Babouli unavailable: The arrival of Mo Babouli at York United was an absolute revelation for a club that had previously struggled to score goals. In the six games Babouli has started, York have 12 goals; in 21 games without him in the XI, they’ve scored 17 — a rate of less than one per game. After Babouli missed last weekend’s match with a minor knock, it’s unclear whether he’ll be fit enough to return in Ottawa. If he’s not able to play, Martin Nash will be leaning on the likes of Osaze De Rosario and Ronan Kratt to play some direct attacking football.

• De Rosario remains alive in Golden Boot race: One York player in particular will continue to be extremely motivated to perform on Sunday: Osaze De Rosario is two goals back of Alejandro Diaz for the Golden Boot award. De Rosario has 11 goals (tied with HFX Wanderers’ Sam Salter), not far behind the 13 Diaz scored before departing Pacific in August. De Rosario will be the focal point of the attack, needing a brace in Ottawa to share the award with Diaz — or, indeed, a hat-trick to win it outright. The young striker hasn’t scored since Sept. 10, and he has just one marker this year against Ottawa, but he will nonetheless be confident in his ability to put a few in the net.

ALL-TIME SERIES

 Atlético Ottawa wins: 1 || York United wins: 2 || Draws: 7

Previous match:

July 24, 2022 — York United 0-3 Atlético Ottawa