Canadian Premier League — Match #52
HFX Wanderers FC vs. Valour FC
August 5, 2019 — Wanderers Grounds (4:30 p.m. AT/3:30 p.m. ET)
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

HFX Wanderers FC will celebrate Natal Day with a much-anticipated homecoming on Monday, as they take on Valour FC at Wanderers Grounds for an afternoon bank holiday clash.

After a grueling five-game road trip over 14 days, from which the Wanderers emerged with four losses and a CanChamp draw (essentially a loss as well), Stephen Hart’s side will be relieved to return to the familiar confines of their own stadium. They’ve only ever lost two CPL games at home, both against Cavalry FC, so they’ll hope that this is an opportunity to improve on their 1-5 record in the Fall competition.

Valour will head to Nova Scotia for the third time, searching for their first win since June 2. They’ve drawn their last two matches, both of which ended with a late Valour equalizer from the penalty spot. Coach Rob Gale was pleased with the resilience they showed to scrape a point in those contests, but the Winnipeg-based club still needs a win to climb out of last place in the CPL table.

These two sides have met four times already, with both sides winning at home in the CPL’s Spring season and HFX Wanderers eliminating Valour from the Canadian Championship in June by a 4-1 aggregate score.

We’ll next see both clubs in the CPL tripleheader slated for Saturday, August 10. HFX will stay at home to host Cavalry FC (1:00 p.m. ET, 2:00 p.m. AT, on OneSoccer), while Valour heads to York Region to play York9 FC (3:30 p.m. ET, on OneSoccer).

KEYS TO THE MATCH

• Stay disciplined: The Wanderers are starting to run into some serious issues with yellow card accumulation. Picking up eight over their last two games, HFX now has four players just one caution away from a suspension, with Andre Bona already slated to miss next Saturday’s match. Stephen Hart will be drilling his players to keep their heads about them here to avoid doing any further damage.
• Start strong, stay strong: Valour, in spite of their less-than-stellar record, has developed a bit of a thing for getting off the ground early in games. Last Wednesday was the latest example, when newcomer Michele Paolucci scored in the fourth minute to put Valour ahead. The problem is, they haven’t been able to turn these results into victories. The visitors should certainly still try to find that early goal at Wanderers Grounds, but they also need to be able to shut things down and hold onto a lead.
• Feed off the energy: It’s been a long, demoralizing road trip for HFX. Fortunately for them, they’re coming back to perhaps the strongest fortress in the CPL in Wanderers Grounds. That building has proven to have a sort of magic around it before, and this would be an ideal time for it to do so again. The Wanderers could use a boost in morale, which they could find from the raucous Halifax crowd in attendance on a sunny holiday afternoon.

 PROJECTED LINEUPS

FC Edmonton: Tyson Farago; Martin Arguinarena, Adam Mitter, Skylar Thomas, Jordan Murrell; Jose Galan, Louis Béland-Goyette; Michael Petrasso, Dylan Carreiro, Marco Bustos; Michele Paolucci

HFX Wanderers FC: Christian Oxner; Alex De Carolis, Matthew Arnone, Peter Schaale, Andre Bona; Mohamed Kourouma, Akeem Garcia, Elliot Simmons, Juan Diego Gutierrez; Thomasz Skublak, Luis Alberto Perea

HEAD TO HEAD

May 11 – Valour FC 1-0 HFX Wanderers FC
June 5 – HFX Wanderers FC 2-1 Valour FC (CanChamp)
June 12 – Valour FC 0-2 HFX Wanderers FC (CanChamp)
June 26 – HFX Wanderers FC 2-0 Valour FC

STATS LEADERS

Akeem Garcia – 4 goals (HFX Wanderers FC)
Tyler Attardo – 3 goals (Valour FC)

INJURIES

Josip Golubar (Valour FC) – Out (ACL)
Ali Musse (Valour FC) – Out

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

None

SUSPENSIONS

None

ACCUMULATION
(Players are suspended for one match 14 days after accumulating a 4th Yellow Card)

Raphael Ohin (Valour FC) – 4 – Will miss August 10 vs. York9 FC
Jordan Murrell (Valour FC) – 4
Andre Bona (HFX Wanderers FC) – 5 – Will miss August 10 vs. Cavalry FC
Ndzemdzela Langwa (HFX Wanderers FC) – 3
Matthew Arnone (HFX Wanderers FC) – 3
Andre Rampersad (HFX Wanderers FC) – 3
Chrisnovic N’Sa (HFX Wanderers FC) – 3

REFEREES

Referee: Filip Dujic
ARs: Travis Lefebvre & Kamel Ben-Khalifa
4th Official: Ben Hoskins

FANTASY PREDICTOR
Download the Centre Circle app to play predictor ahead of each match. 

1. Will HFX win in their return home?

A: After a long and gruelling road trip, the Wanderers and their fans will have extra reason to be excited after a period of time apart. It also helps that the Wanderers have had past success against Valour at home.

2. Will there be a penalty in the match?

A: Valour have been awarded two late penalties in their last two matches. Does lightning strike more than twice?

3. Will a Canadian score a goal?

A: Valour and Halifax both feature attacking lineups that feature a prominent international signing. It wouldn’t be the most surprising thing in the world to see a Canadian be kept off the score sheet.