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SteemSports Editor: Shayne Shiells 
November 22nd 5:00 PM EST (November 23rd 1:00 AM UTC)
SteemSports Presenter: Eric Trottier
This Tuesday, November 22, the Eastern Conference final kicks off at 8:00 pm ET. This first leg of a short two games series takes place at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The two teams facing each other in front of a crowd expected to be close to 60,000 people are the Montreal Impact and the Toronto FC. This new chapter of the 401 Derby will be played on unpredictable artificial turf, so surprises are to be expected in this all Canadian matchup. Plus, IMFC & TFC don’t like each other, thus this should be another exciting episode of the fierce rivalry going on between the two clubs from the two most populous provinces.
High Profile Players Matchup : Piatti or Giovinco?
Montreal Impact
Montreal has just come out alive of a tough and tight series against the New York Red Bulls which Jesse Marsch, the opposing team's manager, compared to a game of chess. Going back to their ‘‘park the bus’’ personality that had once advanced them all the way toward the 2015 CONCACAF Champions League final (which they ended up disappointedly losing in front of 61,004 of their fans), the bet to rely on effective counterattack again paid off against NYRB. For the third matchup in a row, the Impact are considered the underdog and they are very comfortable in that role.
As a matter of proof, they tossed out of the competition DC United, who since the beginning of the month of August were on a positive trail of six wins, two losses & five draws. They went on to surprise the New York Red Bulls who hadn’t lost a game since July 3, a sequence stretching twenty games. Tuesday, IMFC will be putting on the field a team made up of experienced players, that is if they stick to this year playoffs' usual starting eleven mostly composed of thirty years plus, except for Ambroise Oyongo and Victor Cabrera, the two regulars at respectively twenty-five and twenty-three years of age.
Key Player:
Patrice Bernier
Patrice Bernier is the team’s captain and has played in MLS with the Impact since their entry into the league in 2012. Playing as a midfielder, he was born in Montreal and has been with the team before, when they competed in USL. Prior to going to play for different clubs in Europe, he was with the club from 2000 to 2002. He is an achieved athlete having also played at high-level hockey with the Val-d'Or Foreurs and the Sherbrooke Faucons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Before Ignacio Piatti joined the team, he was the one taking most of the penalty kicks, and he didn’t miss much when given the opportunity.
Out of his nine goals in 2012, six were scored from the PK spot, and in 2013 all of his four goals came from this one-on-one with a goalkeeper situation. In 2012 he was named the Impact Most Valuable Player, and in 2013 he was on the MLS All-Star Game roster. So far, he has made fifty-three appearances with the Canada men’s national soccer team. Last year in the playoffs, he scored two goals, including the winning goal against TFC, and added on an assist, later on in that same game in which Toronto was eliminated by Montreal.
Top 11 - Minutes Played IMFC Players - 2016 Regular Season Statistics
Stats Legend:
GP: Games Played ; GS: Games Started ; MP: Minutes Played ; G: Goals ; A: Assists ; SOG: Shots On Goal ; S: Shots ; YC: Yellow Cards ; RC : Red Cards
Toronto FC
Toronto are just coming out of a two-game series against New York City FC where they totally dominated their opponents seven goals to zero. Traveling to Montreal, they should be considered on fire, but we will very soon find out if the two weeks and a half international break has broken their rhythm. Since Montreal have joined MLS, Toronto has had the best out of their league meetings with an overall record of six wins, four losses & four ties and a total of twenty-two goals for & fifteen goals against.
The all-time playoffs statistics are not in their favor, having lost 0-3 at Montreal’s Stade Saputo last year, but the numbers for the all-time meetings happening in Montreal are even, resulting in three wins, three losses & one draw with twelve goals for TFC against eight for IMFC. Whatever the numbers from the past, it can be said that both teams have never before made it that far in the MLS playoffs, and that from now on anything can happen with the two organizations entering into uncharted territory.
Key Player:
Michael Bradley
Michael Bradley is the team’s captain and has been with Toronto FC since 2014. He played in the MLS before with the MetroStars. This American midfielder player has one hundred twenty-six caps with the United States men's national soccer team. In 2015 he was given the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award. He was on the MLS All-Star Game roster in 2014, and he also did play in the 2013 All-Star game but on the opposite side with the A.S. Roma.
He is the son of Bob Bradley who is an ex-MLS coach with the Chicago Fire, the Metrostars & Chivas USA and who was also the manager of the USMNT between 2006 and 2011. This guy makes TFC’s offense, and defense, tick; he is the glue in the middle of the field that brings cohesion to the entire team. On Tuesday, Toronto FC’s success will highly depend on how his own individual performance will fare.
Top 11 - Minutes Played TFC Players - 2016 Regular Season Statistics
Stats Legend:
GP: Games Played ; GS: Games Started ; MP: Minutes Played ; G: Goals ; A: Assists ; SOG: Shots On Goal ; S: Shots ; YC: Yellow Cards ; RC : Red Cards
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