2023 CPL Regular Season — Match #61
Atlético Ottawa vs. Vancouver FC
July 16, 2023 at 2 p.m. ET
TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer // Tickets available here

In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.

This weekend’s Canadian Premier League action will end in the nation’s capital on Sunday, as Atlético Ottawa host Vancouver FC at TD Place.

It’s the third meeting between the two sides, and Ottawa dominated the previous two. On May 13 Ottleti traveled to the west coast and left with a relentless 5-0 victory, with goals from Ollie Bassett, Sam Salter, Noah Verhoeven, Zach Verhoven and Zakaria Bahous. Salter scored in the second match between the two CPL expansion sides as well, on June 17 at TD Place. That match ended 1-0, but it took some Callum Irving heroics and some poor finishing from Ottawa for the scoreline to be as close as it was — with the home side outshooting VFC 17-7.

Vancouver are keen to prove that those were just setbacks in what they hope will be a fruitful season. With the second half of their inaugural season beginning on Sunday, the club have brought in some new key players recently — reigning CPL Golden Boot winner Alejandro Diaz, a difference-making winger in Miki Cantave, and experienced Brazilian midfielder Renan Garcia. Diaz and Garcia could make their debuts for the club on Sunday, while Cantave scored the winning goal for his new club last weekend against the Halifax Wanderers.

VFC were also missing players through injury and suspension both times they met previously, while Ottawa also look different from the last time they met, bringing in Swiss attacker Ruben del Campo and veteran Spanish midfielder Alberto Zapater. With both teams nearing full strength starting lineups again, Sunday’s contest could be an exciting matchup between two tactical managers with much-needed fresh blood.

“The first time we played [Ottawa] we had missing players, suspended players, and the second time was the same, so we’ve never played them at full strength in my opinion,” Vancouver boss Afshin Ghotbi said to reporters on Friday. “On top of that we’ve added quality players to our team, so we’re a completely different team, we see it already in training this week.

“I believe that in the second half of the season you’ll see a completely different Vancouver FC team.”

Several players will be missing out, however, as they return from injuries. Ottawa head coach Carlos Gonzalez didn’t have a concrete update on the status of Aboubakary Sacko — who appeared to injure his hamstring just moments after coming off the bench against Cavalry midweek — but revealed that Max Tissot and Gianni Dos Santos are training with the team again and are nearing a return to action. Nima Moazeni Zadeh remains out for Vancouver, and Callum Irving is expected to return to the lineup after an illness kept him out of the squad last weekend.

Ottawa are looking for a third consecutive victory this week after beating Valour FC last weekend and Cavalry FC midweek — a strong week that has the potential to thrust them from eighth a week ago all the way into a playoff spot this week if they win and other results around the league go their way.

Vancouver, meanwhile, can climb off the bottom of the table if they pick up three points and Valour fails to do so at Tim Hortons Field on Saturday against Forge FC.

OneSoccer is also available as a linear channel on Optik TV (Ch. 980), the pay-TV service operated by Telus, one of Canada’s ‘big three’ telecoms companies, as well as on streaming service fuboTV Canada.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Alejandro Diaz returns to the Canadian Premier League: Alejandro Diaz, one of the of the Canadian Premier League’s best-ever goalscorers during a hugely successful spell with Pacific FC, has returned to Canada, but this time he’ll be suiting up for expansion side Vancouver FC. The Mexican attacker suited up 62 times for the Tridents, scoring 31 goals in all competitions, and adding nine assists. He is the reigning Golden Boot winner in the CPL despite leaving for Norwegian club Sogndal last August, and will be hoping to recapture that form with his new club as they look to climb up the table and make the playoffs. “Alejandro has proven he can not only score but dominate in attack in the Canadian Premier League,” head coach Afshin Ghotbi said after he was signed. “Goals win games, and Díaz scores them in bunches.” Ghotbi said on Friday that Diaz and VFC’s other new signing, Renan Garcia, played 45 minutes each in a friendly match midweek to prepare for CPL action, and that both could make their club debut on Sunday.

• Ottawa looking to continue good home form: Last season, Atlético Ottawa won the regular season title despite not playing their best football at home at TD Place. They won 13 times all year, but just five of those wins came on their home turf, something that they knew they wanted to improve. The home part of their 2023 schedule didn’t start well either, with a draw against the Halifax Wanderers on the opening day of the season, followed by three straight home losses — to York United, Pacific FC, and Forge FC. Since the start of June, however, their fortunes have been totally turned around. They beat the Wanderers 1-0 on June 3, then Vancouver two weeks later by the same scoreline. Last weekend it was a 2-0 victory over Valour FC that sent the fans home happy, and continued a home winning streak that they believe the fans deserve. “It’s always extra, having our fans here, our families, the people that we play for,” said head coach Carlos Gonzalez on Friday. “It’s very important to feel that we have the backup of them, and we have that energy that we need in certain moments.” Gonzalez added that while wins are obviously important, so is showing and putting in a good performance for the people that buy tickets every week to support them. They’ll be hoping the good times continue on Sunday as they look for a fourth consecutive win at TD Place.

• Second half of the season begins in the nation’s capital: Both Atlético Ottawa and Vancouver FC have played fourteen matches already this season, so Sunday’s contest is the start of the second half, and the charge toward the playoffs. Both sides are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, but are by no means out of it yet. The teams are both coming off victories in their last match — Vancouver beat Halifax 2-1 last weekend and Ottawa beat Cavalry 2-0 midweek — and will be looking to stay hot. For Ottawa, it’s a uncommon opportunity for a a nine-point week after also beating Valour FC last weekend and, depending on the results of other matches around the league, could see them jump back into a playoff spot. Vancouver, meanwhile, could climb off the bottom of the table if they win and Valour FC fails to pick up the full three points. There’s plenty of football to be played still in 2023, but expect the competition to ramp up as teams start jockeying for positions and a shot at lifting the North Star Shield.