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• Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak

  Laurent Courtois has accepted that it is on him to find a winning formula as CF Montreal look to snap their winless run against Toronto FC.

  Montreal were beaten 3-1 by Columbus Crew in midweek and are now without a victory in six games in all competitions.

  That includes a three-game losing streak in MLS, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference, and Courtois is eager to get back on track.

  "It's up to me to find the winning formulas and discern the phases of the game," head coach Courtois said after the loss to Columbus.

  "We have to grit our teeth and find solutions. The difficult times we are going through help me identify my group. I want to know the players better. 

  "From all the negative aspects we can observe, I can identify a few individual aspects to improve the game or the team itself."

  Monreal's rivals Toronto have themselves lost back-to-back games ahead of Saturday's Canadian Classique at BMO Field.

  Nashville SC scored twice late on to snatch a 2-0 win in the Reds' most recent match, but acting head coach Jason deVos admits there can be no excuses.

  "The last ten minutes, two mistakes cost us and that's the cruelty of football sometimes - that it's a 90-minute match and you need to put in a 90-minute performance in," he said. 

  "The players are aware of that. They know where the growth areas are for us as a team."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Toronto - Federico Bernardeschi

  Bernardeschi missed the loss to Nashville but will hope to start this weekend in a fixture he has fond memories of. 

  The Italian has scored in each of his two home games against Montreal, making him the third Toronto player to score in two successive home games against them after Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley.

  Montreal - Joel Waterman

  Montreal have conceded three or more goals five times across their 12 MLS games this season, which is tied with San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS.

  They quite simply need to sharpen up at the back, with Joel Waterman needing to step up and hope others around him also do so.. The centre-back led the way for interceptions (three) and clearances (four) against Columbus, yet it was still not enough.

  MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

  Montreal have won five successive matches against Toronto, following a run of neither side ever winning more than three on the spin in this fixture.

  Toronto have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches in which they have held opponents under two goals since September, while they have lost all 13 in which they have shipped two or more.

  Keeping the opposition quiet is therefore key, and this could present a chance to do just that against a Montreal side with fewer points (five) than any side in MLS since mid-March.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Toronto - 39.6%
  Draw - 28.5%
  Montreal - 31.9%

• Pooran stars as LSG condemn Mumbai Indians to last place with 18-run win

  Nicholas Pooran starred to help the Lucknow Super Giants close out a disappointing 2024 Indian Premier League season with an 18-run win over the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.

  LSG piled up an imposing 214-6 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by Mumbai.

  Captain KL Rahul scored a 41-ball 55 to cap off an indifferent season with the bat by his standards before Pooran, who has been one of LSG’s standout players this season, scored a brilliant 75 off just 29 balls including five fours and eight sixes.

  Marcus Stoinis and Ayush Badoni also had solid contributions of 28 and 22*, respectively.

  Nuwan Thushara was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers with 3-28 from his four overs while Piyush Chawla ended with 3-29 from his full quota.

  Despite 68 from skipper Rohit Sharma and 62* off just 28 balls from Naman Dhir, Mumbai fell short of their target reaching 196-6 at the end of their 20 overs.

  Sharma’s knock at the top of the order lasted 38 balls and included 10 fours and three sixes while Dhir hit four fours and five sixes in his innings.

  Ravi Bishnoi and Naveen-ul-Haq took 2-37 and 2-50 in their four over spells.

  This win means LSG will end the season sixth with 14 points from as many games while Mumbai, five-time champions, will finish last having recorded only four wins in their 14 games for eight points.

  Full scores:

  Lucknow Super Giants 214-6 off 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 75, KL Rahul 55, Nuwan Thushara 3-28, Piyush Chawla 3-29)

  Mumbai Indians 196-6 off 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 68, Naman Dhir 62*, Ravi Bishnoi 2-37, Naveen-ul-Haq 2-50)

   

• IPL: Mumbai Indians condemned to last-place finish after 18-run defeat to Super Giants

  Rohit Sharma's half-century was not enough for Mumbai Indians as they slipped to an 18-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants at Wankhede Stadium.

  The defeat consigned Mumbai to bottom place in the Indian Premier League for the second time in the space of three seasons, after losing 10 matches this year.

  LSG were also left to lament their misfortune, as despite reaching 14 points, they did not qualify for the play-offs.

  KL Rahul's 55 got the ball rolling for Lucknow, but their innings was ebbing out until Nicholas Pooran's dazzling 29-ball 75 took them to 214-6, despite the efforts of Nuwan Thushara (3-28) and Piyush Chawla (3-29), who stepped up in Jasprit Bumrah's absence.

  Rohit's 38-ball 68 set the tone for what looked set to be a promising Mumbai chase, as he struck 13 boundaries around a short rain delay.

  However, Mumbai went from 88 without loss to 120-5 in the space of six overs, leaving the tail with too much of a mountain to climb.

  Data Debrief: Lucknow miss out

  While Mumbai sit bottom of the pile yet again, it is a case of what might have been for LSG, who for the first time in their three-season history, failed to make the top four.

  Fourteen points is often enough to get over the line and into the play-offs, but their poor net run rate of -0.667 means they miss out.