Written by:Benedict Rhodes
2025 CPL Regular Season — Match #34
Valour FC vs. Pacific FC
June 1 at 3 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. PT
Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Live: OneSoccer // Tickets available here
Matchweek nine in the Canadian Premier League wraps up in Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon, where Valour FC will host Pacific FC at Princess Auto Stadium.
It is an important match for two sides coming off defeats last weekend, and both part of a bottom four in the CPL that could get left behind by the top four if they don't start to rack up some points. Pacific sits in the coveted fifth and final playoff spot heading into matchweek nine, with seven points from eight matches so far, Valour is at the bottom of the table heading into the weekend with four from seven.
The Winnipeggers lost heavily to Cavalry FC last weekend, despite looking like the better of the two teams through 45 minutes. Although down a goal at halftime, Valour were leading in shots and possession and seemed to be dictating a lot of the play, but gave up three second half goals in a heavy 4-0 defeat.
That was the same scoreline that Pacific lost to the Cavs a week prior at ATCO Field in the first of two consecutive defeats for James Merriman's Tridents. The other came last weekend back home at Starlight Stadium, as a late goal from Hoce Massunda saw Forge come to town and leave with all three points. They now head to Princess Auto Stadium for the first time this season looking to get back on track against a Valour team that will also be raring to go.
Sunday's match will be the second between these teams this season, after previously meeting at Starlight Stadium on the opening day of the season. The Tridents picked up all three points in that one, with Dario Zanatta and Ronan Kratt finding the back of the net in a 2-0 victory for the hosts.
They will be without goalkeeper Sean Melvin for this match after he picked up a knock this week. Max Anchor is expected to start, with Daniel Zadravec brought back onto the roster on another Short-Term Replacement Contract.
Valour's form had been improving before that Cavalry defeat after beating York United the weekend prior and following it up with a draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship, both at home. As they return to Princess Auto Stadium for the start of a two-game homestand, they will be keen to put last week's result behind them and get back to winning ways.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Can Bustos continue good start to the year in his hometown?: Although he only has two assists to show for it through eight starts for Pacific, Marco Bustos has unquestionably been one of the CPL's most dangerous forwards in his return to the league. Bustos leads the league with 25 chances created through eight games, eight more than second-place David Rodriguez of Atletico Ottawa, who is the early favourite for the Player of the Year award. Bustos' two assists put him in a tie for fourth in the league, just two back of league-leader Rodriguez, and 15 of his chances created have been from set pieces, five more than second-place Sean Rea of the Halifax Wanderers. Pacific has struggled to find a consistent threat at striker for the past few few seasons now, and that seems to be the case again so far in 2025, but it's not for a lack of trying from their number ten. Bustos, who is from Winnipeg and played for Valour back in 2019, will be front and centre again for Pacific as they look to shake off some early season rust, and he will be motivated to raise his game to an even higher level in his hometown.
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Valour need to bounce back from heavy defeat last time out: After last weekend's 4-0 defeat in Calgary, Valour defender Gianfranco Facchineri was open about his team's disappoint and the need to bounce back in a big way. "This one's pretty easy to take a lesson from," he said adamantly after the match. "They played a very good game, but we believe, it's a collective feeling, that there are things that we could have done, to minimize how that went." Sunday's test against Pacific is their opportunity to bounce back in front of their home supporters and prove that they can limit some of the mistakes that led to the loss against the Cavs. More importantly, they need to be more clinically offensively, as they had a game-high 18 shots but just three of them were on target and none of them ended up in the back of the net.
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Crucial game between two teams potentially battling it out for one playoff spot: Heading into matchweek nine, a clear top four and bottom four is starting to emerge in the Canadian Premier League table, but with five teams making the playoffs it leads to four teams fighting hard for what might end up as just one available place. Pacific and Valour are in that bottom group. The Tridents have seven points from eight games, while Valour has four from seven, and can tie Sunday's opponent on points with a win. York United (seven points from eight) and Vancouver FC (five points from seven) make up the rest of the chasing pack. Cavalry FC and Forge FC have 13 points from seven games each before they meet in Hamilton on Saturday, and both have a game in hand over Pacific. They also have a game in hand each over Halifax Wanderers FC and Atletico Ottawa, who both have 17 points from eight games entering the weekend's action. There is still plenty of season left for teams to move up or down, but teams who want to be above the playoff line must start to make a move already before they dig themselves into too deep a hole to try and escape from in the rest of the season. It might be too early to call this game on Sunday a "six point game", but for both sides it could prove to be crucial when it's all said and done.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Valour FC: Himaras; Fernandez, Romeo, Facchineri, Antonoglou; Ohin, Figueiredo; Twardek, Venâncio, Williams; Layne
Pacific FC: Anchor; Chung, Machado, Ndom, Lajeunesse; Young, Browning Lagerfeldt, Keshavarz; Bustos, Montejano, Heard
ALL-TIME SERIES
Valour FC wins: 4 || Pacific FC wins: 17 || Draws: 3
Last meeting:
Apr. 5, 2025 — Pacific FC 2-0 Valour FC