Music: {allcanada} Impact try to move on without Di Vaio

Saturday, August 4, 2012

{allcanada} Impact try to move on without Di Vaio

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The match

Montreal Impact vs. Philadelphia Union

Date and Location

Saturday, August 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET, Montreal's Saputo Stadium

Setting the scene

If the Montreal Impact are to win a fourth straight game at home, they're going to have to do it without Marco Di Vaio.

The Italian striker and the team's designated player scored his first goal in MLS last weekend, pacing the Impact to an impressive 3-1 win over the visiting New York Red Bulls.

But Di Vaio won't be available for Saturday's contest, as he had to return to Italy this week in order to appear before a tribunal investigating a massive match-fixing scandal in that country. Di Vaio is alleged to have failed to report fraud in a game against Bari in 2011 when he played for Bologna.

Di Vaio could be back in Montreal Saturday afternoon, but Impact coach Jesse Marsch likely won't use the travel-weary Italian against Philadelphia.

Instead, rookie forward Andrew Wenger is expected to start against the Union.

"It's unfortunate timing, but we're confident that when he comes back we can continue from where he left off," Marsch told the Canadian Press this week. "We know we have a good bench, so when Andrew steps in and Sanna (Nyassi) comes on the field, we have guys that can help us attack and are dangerous."

Wenger has been bothered by a hamstring injury, and only made his return last week against New York when he came on as a late substitute.

With Di Vaio unavailable, it'll be up to the 21-year-old forward to lead the line.

"It's like any other game," Wenger told CP. "The pressure is on the team to put another win together and keep moving forward."

News and notes

Philadelphia (7-10-2), tied with New England with 23 points, is four points back of seventh-place Montreal (8-13-3) in the East, but it has five games in hand on the Impact... This is the second and final meeting of the season between the two clubs. The Union earned a 2-1 win over the Impact at home on July 14 when Carlos Valdes scored in the first minute of injury time after Montreal tied the score in the 90th minute... Montreal has surrendered a league-high 43 goals this season... While Philadelphia has won four straight at home, they are 2-6-1 on the road and have scored just six goals in those games... Montreal is 5-2-0 at Saputo Stadium since moving there on June 16 after playing its home games at Olympic Stadium earlier this season... The Impact have scored 33 goals this season, seven shy of the expansion team record set by the Portland Timbers in 2011... Montreal last won two straight games on April 28 and May 5.

Player to watch for Montreal

Andrew Wenger: With Di Vaio unavailable, all eyes will be on Wenger. The number one overall pick in this year's MLS SuperDraft has a chance to make his mark with the spotlight firmly focused on him.

Player to watch for Philadelphia

Jack McInerney: The young forward from Tennessee has been a real livewire for Philadelphia this season with four goals and two assists in 12 games.

Key matchup

Lionard Pajoy vs. Alessandro Nesta: The Italian defender did a good job of stopping Thierry Henry in his MLS debut last weekend. He has another tough assignment against Pajoy, the Colombian forward who leads the Union in scoring this season with five goals.

The Montreal perspective

"There is definitely a bitter taste in our mouths from the game in Philly. It's important for us to be disciplined. They have a good mentality and they fight till the very end. We will have to take advantage of our chances and limit their good players." -- assistant coach Mike Sorber told the team's official website.

The Philadelphia perspective

"Playing Montreal twice in such a short time frame, it's going to be tough. The fact that we won that game in the fashion that we won it makes this a huge challenge for us. They've been a good team all year at home and with (Alessandro) Nesta coming into the team, it changes them a little bit. It's a huge challenge in front of us." -- coach John Hackworth told the team's official website.

What's next

Montreal returns to MLS action next Sunday when it visits the New England Revolution.