2022 CPL Regular Season — Match #112
Atlético Ottawa vs. York United
October 9, 2022 at 6 p.m. ET
TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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The 2022 regular season in the Canadian Premier League reaches its conclusion on Sunday night in the capital, as Atlético Ottawa and York United square off in Match 112.

Ottawa enter this match as the CPL’s regular season champions for 2022, as Cavalry FC’s 1-0 win over Pacific FC on Saturday evening means no team can pass the club-record 48 points Ottawa have amassed this season.

Atleti come into this match riding a club-record eight-game unbeaten streak. Last Saturday, they went to the Maritimes and took three points against HFX Wanderers FC, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Maxim Tissot and Zakaria Bahous. The weekend before that, they downed Cavalry FC 3-1 at Spruce Meadows to lock up their playoff spot.

Bahous is likely to get the nod in the starting lineup again, with Ottawa still needing another 27 U-21 minutes to reach the 2,000 threshold and be eligible for the playoffs. Atleti will, however, be without two key producers on Sunday, as Ollie Bassett and Miguel Acosta sit out with suspensions.

York, while technically eliminated from playoff contention, will still nonetheless be eager to finish the season on a positive note. They enter the weekend sitting sixth in the table with a 9-6-12 record and 33 points, having won five of their last eight. Their run through September was impressive enough to earn Martin Nash the CPL’s Manager of the Month nod, with Mo Babouli being named Player of the Month for his four goals and two assists.

Unfortunately for York, Babouli’s status for this weekend remains questionable after he missed last weekend’s match at Forge. The Nine Stripes lost that match 2-0 and certainly missed Babouli’s attacking spark, so they’ll hope he can return for the final match.

Last time these sides met, Ottawa went to York Lions Stadium and won 3-0, with Bassett and Ballou Tabla both scoring penalties and Brian Wright adding another goal. The prior two meetings were draws, one each in Ottawa and York.

Make your match picks prior to kickoff at canpl.ca/predictor for a chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the 2021 CPL Final! To learn more about ComeOn!, click here.

All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980. Tous les matchs de l’Atlético Ottawa sont disponibles en français sur OneSoccer.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Ottawa seek form-building performance despite first-place clinch: Technically, there’s not a lot on the line for Atlético Ottawa in this contest, since they’re now guaranteed the regular season title and home field advantage through the playoffs thanks to Pacific’s loss on Saturday. Still, with the playoffs kicking off next weekend, Ottawa will be motivated to perform well at home on Sunday to ensure they go into the postseason playing their best football. Of course, they’ll be without a few key names — Ollie Bassett and Miguel Acosta miss out with suspension, and it’s unlikely Carlos González will risk anybody dealing with a minor injury — but the keys for them will be maintaining the defensive structure that’s worked so well for them this year, as well as getting some attacking pieces like Ballou Tabla and Malcolm Shaw to heat up and put a few goals in the net so they enter the semi-finals in top form.

• York seek quality in attack even if Babouli unavailable: The arrival of Mo Babouli at York United was an absolute revelation for a club that had previously struggled to score goals. In the six games Babouli has started, York have 12 goals; in 21 games without him in the XI, they’ve scored 17 — a rate of less than one per game. After Babouli missed last weekend’s match with a minor knock, it’s unclear whether he’ll be fit enough to return in Ottawa. If he’s not able to play, Martin Nash will be leaning on the likes of Osaze De Rosario and Ronan Kratt to play some direct attacking football. With Babouli in the number 10 spot, York have looked far more dangerous, although the likes of Michael Petrasso or Kevin Dos Santos could still offer a creative outlet in his stead if necessary.

• De Rosario remains alive in Golden Boot race: One York player in particular will continue to be extremely motivated to perform on Sunday: Osaze De Rosario is two goals back of Alejandro Diaz for the Golden Boot award. De Rosario has 11 goals (tied with HFX Wanderers’ Sam Salter), not far behind the 13 Diaz scored before departing Pacific in August. De Rosario will be the focal point of the attack, needing a brace in Ottawa to share the award with Diaz — or, indeed, a hat-trick to win it outright. The young striker hasn’t scored since Sept. 10, and he has just one marker this year against Ottawa, but he will nonetheless be confident in his ability to put a few in the net.

ALL-TIME SERIES

 Atlético Ottawa wins: 1 || York United wins: 2 || Draws: 7

Previous match:

July 24, 2022 — York United 0-3 Atlético Ottawa