This weekend's 905 Derby clash features two sides chasing history, as an undefeated Forge FC travel to face red-hot York United.
The hosts York have their eyes on their club-record unbeaten streak, set at eight games back in 2021. Currently, they're riding a string of seven in a row without a loss, so a win or draw on Saturday would equal their all-time best.
As it stands, York sit fourth in the league table with 25 points, and they're looking to separate themselves from the middle of the pack. Cavalry, also on 25 points, occupy third place thanks to their head-to-head record, while the Halifax Wanderers are just behind in fifth with 24. So, there's little margin for error for Mauro Eustáquio's side.
Last weekend, York went to the nation's capital and went toe-to-toe with Atlético Ottawa, withstanding an overwhelming amount of Atleti possession (74 per cent) but not breaking in a 0-0 draw.
Forge, meanwhile, have already made history this year; they still haven't lost in 2025, bringing their CPL unbeaten streak to 17 — breaking their own league record of 14, set back in 2019. They still have 11 matches to play, but no team has ever had a better shot at completing an invincible season.
The Hamilton side took over first place in the CPL table last weekend with their resounding 5-0 win over Valour FC, and they now sit one point ahead of Atlético Ottawa with 37. It's looking increasingly like the battle for the CPL Shield will be between those two sides, with more than a 10-point gap between them and third place.
However, Forge still have yet to beat York in 2025. They've met twice, and both times the game has ended 2-2. The Nine Stripes have held a lead in both matches, but haven't quite managed to see out a win; their current winless streak against their derby rivals now sits at nine games in all competitions. York's last win against Forge was in May 2023 in Hamilton.
This may be York's best chance in a while, given their current form and how well they've played against Forge in recent meetings.
Both sides come into this match in good shape; Forge have a full squad available, boosted by last week's returns of Alessandro Hojabrpour and Elimane Cisse. York have had a stable lineup the past few weeks, though Steffen Yeates remains about 10 days away from return, according to Eustáquio.
It's rarely boring when York and Forge meet in the 905 Derby; could this be the best one yet?
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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In-form sides feature big names: These two sides were arguably the strongest in the CPL during July, and they were recognized for it in last week's monthly awards. Forge captain Kyle Bekker was the July Player of the Month, while shot-stopper Jassem Koleilat was the league's Goalkeeper of the Month. Meanwhile, York head coach Mauro Eustáquio was named the Manager of the Month for steering his side to its current unbeaten run. At the forefront of Eustáquio's squad is striker Julian Altobelli, who remains firmly in the Golden Boot hunt with nine goals so far; he's desperate to find the net again and close the gap between himself and league leader Sam Salter (11 goals).
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Forge spoiled for choice in midfield: After Elimane Cisse and Alessandro Hojabrpour both came off the bench last week against Valour, Bobby Smyrniotis has an incredible wealth of options when it comes to picking his midfield for Saturday. Between Bekker, Noah Jensen, Tristan Borges, Cisse and Hojabrpour — plus Ben Paton if healthy, and even youngster Khadim Kane — it'll be tough to select just three to start. Smyrniotis has been known to get creative with his lineups to find ways of getting his best players on the pitch, but it seems that no matter what he does, he'll have some exceptional talent to call upon from the bench this weekend.
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López in line for larger contribution? York's newest arrival, Mexican midfielder Leonel López, made his club debut in Ottawa last week and did well in his half-hour shift off the bench. Now that he's had a few weeks of training in Toronto, though, it's possible he could get a bigger role this week against Forge's stacked midfield. The 31-year-old central midfielder has a wealth of experience across Liga MX and the Bolivian top flight, so his abilities might prove valuable to Eustáquio this week. That said, it's hard to argue in favour of dropping either Kembo Kibato or Elijah Adekugbe from the starting XI, so López may instead need to earn his minutes more gradually. Still, he's a talented player for Eustáquio to turn to whenever he feels is appropriate.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
York United: Urtiaga; Singh, Sturing, León; Ferrazzo, Adekugbe, Kibato, Botello; Ferrin, Altobelli, Reid
Forge: Koleilat; Rama, Achinioti-Jönsson, Nimick, Jevremović; Bekker, Jensen, Borges; Ampomah, Wright, Babouli
ALL-TIME SERIES
York United wins: 7 || Forge wins: 16 || Draws: 7
Last meeting:
June 29, 2025 — Forge FC 2-2 York United
KEY QUOTES
"We know what's in store, we know who we're playing against. [Forge] is a very well organized team, it's a team that has a victorious history. They're going to bring that to the game tomorrow. We also know this is a turning page for the club, we know we're in a good momentum so we want to continue to build that." -- York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio
"[York] have become a lot more defensively robust. They're a team that defends first, then doest the rest. Like I've talked about in the past, you want to find a way to get quick results in this league it's get defensively compact and find your moments, and they're doing that. They're staying in a tight block of 5-4-1 a lot of times, and it's a tough thing for teams to break down, and they're looking for their opportunities on the counter. ... Beginning of the season, although the formation was similar, they were a little bit more fluid, more open. So [now] it's a little bit more patience to break them down." -- Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis
