New York City vs. Montreal Impact – MLS, October 24, 2020

After securing three straight victories across late September and early October, New York City has now failed to win any of their previous three games.

On the other hand, Montreal Impact heads to Yankee Stadium on Saturday, October 24, on the back of a convincing victory over Inter Miami. But the Canadians still find themselves four points behind NYC in the Eastern Conference.

Can Thierry Henry’s men close the gap this weekend? You can find my New York City vs. Montreal Impact prediction and betting pick below.

This game undoubtedly has the largest odds gap of all the weekend’s MLS fixtures. The leading online soccer betting sites view New York City (1.40) as the clear favorite, with Montreal (7.00) being names as the rank outsider.

However, when you consider that NYC has struggled in recent weeks, the price for the draw (4.60) looks very appealing.

It is so secret that New York City has struggled for consistency this season. The Boys in Blue finished top of the Eastern Conference last year, but their sporadic results in 2020 mean they are yet to secure a play-off place.

Ronny Deila’s side notched up three straight wins just after the MLS is Back Tournament but followed that run up with one win in their next four outings. NYC again sealed three consecutive wins earlier in the month, but the team has only managed to pick up one point from a possible nine since then.

I’m confident that New York City will reach the play-offs, although Deila’s men have been far from convincing this year. The Bronx outfit has failed to establish a rhythm this term, so a top-six finish may be out of reach.

Still, with four qualifying places up for grabs, it would be a massive shock if NYC didn’t make it to the next phase of the campaign.

Fought hard but not our night. #NYCFC #CLBvNYC | @Heineken_US pic.twitter.com/znLr6EYPJy

— New York City FC (@NYCFC) October 19, 2020

It’s fair to say that Montreal has also been wildly unpredictable this season. The Canadians’ record of W7-D2-L10 underlines their inconsistency, but the team continues to pick up important results when it matters.

The Quebec outfit kicked off October in impressive fashion, drawing with Chicago Fire before beating high-flying Columbus Crew. Defeats to Philadelphia Union and New England Revolution followed, but the Impact bounced back with a victory over Inter Miami last weekend.

Bojan Krkic and Maximiliano Urruti got on the scoresheet last time out, with the former being named MLS Player of the Week. The ex-Barcelona star also assisted the winning goal, keeping Henry’s men in contention for a top-six finish.

Given that New York City heads into the weekend on a three-game winless run, I don’t think the low odds for the home win are with bothering with here. Instead, I’m backing the draw.

Montreal will be brimming with confidence having returned to winning ways last time out, and I’m expecting the Impact to carry their momentum into Saturday’s matchup. Henry’s men could struggle to claim all three points, but they are more than capable of snatching a draw.