Ashley Westwood believes Charlotte FC are clicking at the right time, with an MLS Cup Playoff spot already secured ahead of their weekend clash with CF Montreal.

Charlotte made certain of a playoff place by edging a seven-goal thriller against the Chicago Fire in midweek, Karol Swiderski netting twice in a 4-3 win for Dean Smith's men.

They face Montreal, who are one place and five points below them in the standings, at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday, as they gear up for a second playoff run in as many years.

Captain and former Aston Villa midfielder Westwood believes Charlotte's run of seven points – and nine goals – in three matches has come at the ideal moment. 

"It all comes with us starting to know people's movements," Westwood told WFNZ Sports Radio. 

"It's not easy to come straight into a team and people expect things to click straight away, but everyone has different movements. Finally, it looks like it's clicking at the right time."

Montreal are looking to make certain of a wild-card place, having clinched a huge 2-1 victory over Atlanta United last time out – courtesy of former Five Stripes hero Josef Martinez.

"We fought for this win and it is a very important one for us," Martinez said. "Of course, coming to this stadium with these fans, to play against this club was tough. 

"It's always hard and I have a lot of love for them but I am professional and I need to fight for my colours.

"We are happy with this victory, but we need to focus on Charlotte now. Now we fight for one reason and it is to make the playoffs. The team is on the same page and this is why we are scoring goals."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Charlotte FC – Karol Swiderski 

Swiderski scored twice on Wednesday with his first strike coming in the eighth minute, the fifth time he has scored in the first 10 minutes of an MLS match for Charlotte. 

Only one other player in team history has scored multiple goals within the first 10 minutes of matches in MLS play (Yordy Reyna, with two).

CF Montreal – Josef Martinez

Martinez scored two goals against his former club Atlanta on Wednesday, his 24th career multi-goal MLS match. 

Only Landon Donovan (32) and Chris Wondolowski (25) have more such games in league history.

MATCH PREDICTION – CHARLOTTE FC WIN

Montreal are unbeaten in five all-time meetings with Charlotte in MLS (four wins, one draw), including a 2-1 home win on September 14. Charlotte's only point against Montreal came in the teams' last meeting at Bank of America Stadium, a scoreless draw in June 2023.

However, that could change here. The Crown have scored four goals in each of their last two home matches, in wins over the New England Revolution and Chicago Fire. They previously had just two MLS matches (home or away) with four or more goals in their history.

Montreal's midweek triumph over Atlanta was their first road win in 13 attempts in MLS (four draws, eight defeats), and a repeat looks unlikely here.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Charlotte FC – 52.7%

CF Montreal – 23.1%

Draw – 24.2%

Poland believe they have what it takes to beat the Netherlands on Sunday, even without their talisman, Robert Lewandowski.

The striker is Poland's all-time top scorer with 82 goals in his 150 appearances for the national side.

Seven of those goals have come at major tournaments (two at World Cups and five at European Championships), and he scored three goals in their qualifying campaign to help them into the tournament.

However, Lewandowski has been ruled out of the Eagles' opener after sustaining a hamstring injury in their final warm-up friendly against Turkiye on Monday.

They are also missing striker Karol Swiderski due to an ankle injury, while Arkadiusz Milik withdrew from the squad as well.

Zielinski, who will wear the captain's armband in Lewandowski's absence, remained confident Poland have the players to get a victory.

"It is a great pity Robert Lewandowski cannot help us in this match," said Zielinski.

"He is a world-class player, and we will miss him. But whether it is me or the team-mates, we will add something extra to achieve the goal, which is to win."

"The qualifications were not exactly what we would have expected. The most important thing is that we are here, and we will do whatever we can."

Lewandowski is in contention to feature in Poland's other two Group D matches, with Austria and France also lying in wait.

Probierz will manage just his third game without the 35-year-old in the side, but echoed Zielinski's optimism ahead of a stern test against the Netherlands.

"There's nothing to hide, we will miss him. But other players will have to do what they can to get a result. I hope he will have other opportunities to play," he said.

"We have to change this team generationally. We will do whatever we have to do as a team to play well. We will not step back, we will progress.

"Everyone is saying we are going to lose. Everyone is writing us off. But we have a team that wants to fight for each other."

Michal Probierz is hopeful the injury sustained by Robert Lewandowski in Poland's final Euro 2024 warm-up game is nothing serious.

Lewandowski was taken off a little over half an hour into his side's 2-1 friendly win over Turkiye on Monday with an apparent thigh issue.

Probierz had already seen fellow striker Karol Swiderski leave the field with an ankle injury sustained as he celebrated his 12th-minute goal.

Baris Alper Yilmaz equalised for Turkiye in the 77th minute, but Nicola Zalewski won the game for Poland with a last-minute strike.

The injuries to Lewandowski and Swiderski were the big talking points after the game, though, with head coach Probierz sharing an update to reporters.

"Karol has sprained his ankle," Probierz said. "Only after the tests will we know what the situation looks like. 

"Robert has a slight injury but there should be no problem. There will certainly be no changes made [to the squad]."

Lewandowski has made more appearances (150) and scored more goals (82) for Poland than any other player.

Poland have already lost another attacker in the build-up to Euro 2024 as Juventus' Arkadiusz Milik injured his knee against Ukraine last week.

Probierz's side kick off their tournament against the Netherlands on Sunday, before facing Austria and then France in Group D.