A thrilling Sunday Canadian Premier League tripleheader kicks off in Winnipeg, as Valour hosts York United at Princess Auto Stadium.
The third meeting between these two teams in 2025, each side enters this match having claimed a victory apiece in head-to-head matchups this year, each coming at their respective home stadiums.
Will that trend repeat in this third match? Certainly, Valour will be hoping that is the case, as they look to avoid a third straight defeat in league play, having lost to fellow Ontario sides Forge and Atlético Ottawa in recent weeks.
After ending July in good form with a pair of victories against Vancouver and Cavalry, these back-to-back defeats have felt like a cold shower, one that has left Valour in a tough position with 10 games remaining in their CPL campaign.
As it stands, they sit seventh in the CPL table with 14 points, 11 points behind the Halifax Wanderers for that fifth and final spot in the playoff race, showing that they’ve still got some work to do if they’re to reach the postseason for the first time as a club.
With a trip to Halifax awaiting them next matchday, however, they could make up some good ground in that race over the next few weeks, showing the importance of this game, from their perspective.
“We want to build momentum,” Valour head coach, Philip Dos Santos, said. “We want to be able to connect 3, 4, 5 good performances in a row. We’ve had a few good matches, and then we get hit with a very heavy counterperformance. The outcome, the final result, we don't control that all of the time; you need many things to go your way, so for me, it's all about consistency in the performance, and that's what we're going to be looking for.”
Meanwhile, much like Valour, York United are also coming off a bit of a tough stretch against their fellow Ontario-based rivals Forge and Ottawa, as they fell to Forge in their last matchup after drawing Ottawa the week prior.
Because of that, they’ve missed out on a chance to get close to both of those sides, who continue to lead the league, as York now sits 14 points behind second-place Ottawa and 15 points behind first-place Forge.
Of course, while York would love to challenge either of their Ontario rivals for a top two spot, given that they also sit just one point behind third-place Cavalry, they’ll want to first try and regain a top three spot this weekend, before they try to chip away at pushing higher up the table.
Quietly, they’ve won two and drawn two of their last four road games, so they’ll want to continue to use that road warriors mentality to their advantage against a Valour side that has just three wins and one draw in nine home matches in league play this year.
“The team's ready to bounce back,” York’s head coach, Mauro Eustáquio, said this week. “I think the response this week has been extremely positive. The reality is that when you go on a run like we went, adding points every week and winning games every weekend, that’s something that you get used to, and we want to get back to those winning ways.”
In terms of player availability, Valour announced this week that they’ll be without Zachary Fernandez for the rest of the season, while Eleias Himaras serves the last of a three-game suspension; otherwise, it looks unlikely that Jonathan Viscosi or Kianz Froese will return in time for this game. As for the visitors, York could be without Orlando Botello and Oswaldo Léon, who are dealing with knocks, but are set to welcome back Steffen Yeates from an injury.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
- Can new formation spark Valour? After mostly using a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 this season, Valour made a bit of a tweak for their match against Ottawa last week, switching to a 5-3-2. Thanks to that, they were able to get all three of Rocco Romeo, Gianfranco Facchineri and Kelsey Egwu on the pitch after rotating through those three centre backs all year long, while also getting a bit more support out wide to their strikers via their wing backs, Kris Twardek and Themi Antonoglou. To their credit, those changes paid off, too, as they pushed Ottawa in a spirited performance, only losing 2-1 due to some small lapses defensively and a lack of cutting edge offensively. Certainly, the advanced numbers from that game support that claim, as they had 2.05 xG to Ottawa’s 1.37, missing a whopping three big chances on the day. Because of that, look for them to build on what worked well in that formation vs. Ottawa while being a bit more clinical in both boxes. Against a York side that uses the same formation as Ottawa, playing a 3-4-2-1 on the ball that morphs into a 5-4-1 without it, Valour will feel confident that they’ll be set up to defend what makes York dangerous while offering a threat going the other way - but it’ll be up for them to prove that by executing their game plan throughout the 90 minutes.
- York continuing to manage new depth: Quietly, York have been busy shaking up their squad this summer, and that continued this week, as they signed Canadian youth international midfielder Jesse Costa, having already brought in CPL veteran striker Shaan Hundal (from Valour) and the experienced Liga MX midfielder Leonel López in this transfer window. With those moves, they’ve added impressive depth to a team that already has a pretty strong starting XI, adding good competition to their group. That they were able to insert someone like López into their last match for Elijah Adekugbe and get a goal from their new signing shows why these moves are so important, as they’ve got all sorts of firepower across their squad. Now, the big challenge will be to figure out how to pick their best starting XI, and how to turn this newfound depth into fierce competition for places, but that should be a challenge that Eustáquio welcomes, given how he’s pushed this side this year.
- Who can capitalize on space out wide? With both teams likely to use a back three, one thing to watch tactically is the space that will be available out wide in this game, given that Princess Auto Stadium is one of the bigger pitches in the league. In a sense, however, that likely helps explain one of the key reasons behind Valour’s formation change for the last match, as they used that width to their advantage against Ottawa, sending 35.3% of their attacks down the left and 35.9% down the right. Against an Ottawa side that loves to push their wing backs high up the pitch, they caused some problems, and they’ll look to do the same against York and their similarly minded wide defenders. On the flip side, York will look to use that width to their advantage, as they’ll want to create wide overloads that could lead them to isolate Valour’s centre backs in 1v1 situations centrally. One thing to watch in that regard is that York likes to have their two midfielders join the attack quite aggressively - that could be a key differentiator that allows them to create those overloads required to break down Valour. They’ll have to be careful with how aggressive they are centrally, as Valour went with two up front last week instead of with three forwards, giving them an extra body in the middle, which they’ll hope can give them a bit of an edge in that area of the pitch, too.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Valour FC: Weir; Facchineri, Romeo, Egwu; Twardek, Mlah, Ohin, Figuereido, Antonoglou; Williams, Morgan
York United: Urtiaga; Singh, Sturing, León; Ferrari, López, Kibato, Ferrazzo; Reid, Ferrin; Altobelli
ALL-TIME SERIES
Valour wins: 10 || York United wins: 9 || Draws: 3
Last meeting:
July 13, 2025 -- York United 3-2 Valour
KEY QUOTES
“It's about building on the good things, that's how we have to approach it. It was a very productive week; we tried to be straightforward with the guys, while also being objective about the areas where we could improve. It’s a good matchup, we're at home, and we're playing a team that sets up in a very similar way to how Ottawa did, even if they’ve got some different characteristics and profiles in certain players. It’s the best matchup for us after the game we played against Ottawa.” – Valour FC head coach Philip Dos Santos.
“I think it's all about continuing with the consistency to go into games and being able to win them. I think we have the togetherness, and we understand the way I want to play better and better. Now, it's just about making sure the players are fresh, as there have been a lot of players who have a lot of minutes in their legs, but there are going to be opportunities around the corner for other players to get match-fit and show their quality. We want to make sure that everybody is fresh, both mentally and physically, and to continue being hungry, because we know how important these next 10 games are. If we want to go into the playoffs and go on a run, the higher we finish, the more possibilities we have to do so.” – York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio