It's a Canada Day matinee in Nova Scotia, where the Halifax Wanderers take on Valour FC in front of what's sure to be a packed house at the Wanderers Grounds.
Both sides come in well-rested, with their last matches being the weekend of June 21-22. The Wanderers triumphed in their contest last Saturday at home, beating Vancouver FC 1-0 thanks to a well-placed header by Thomas Meilleur-Giguère.
Halifax sit fourth in the CPL table right now, and a win on Tuesday could spring them into third past Cavalry, who currently have an identical 6-3-3 record and 21 points.
Valour, meanwhile, are aiming to kickstart a summer surge up the table. They're seventh at the moment with just eight points, so they have work to do if they want to close the seven-point gap between them and the playoff line.
Their last appearance on the pitch was one they'll hope to forget soon. Valour were trounced at home by Forge, who raced out to a 5-0 victory thanks in part to a Brian Wright hat trick.
Halifax have a good historical record against Valour, winning 13 of their 24 meetings with four draws. These sides have met once already this season, a 1-0 win for the Wanderers in Winnipeg where Tiago Coimbra and Vitor Dias came off the bench, and the former assisted the latter for a winning goal in the 90th minute.
More late drama could be on the cards in this one, where both sides will be very hungry for points.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Halifax seek midfield dominance: One of the greatest strengths of this Wanderers team is their ability to control the tempo of a match from the middle of the pitch. Lorenzo Callegari is usually the engineer of that, with his exceptional passing range and vision to distribute the ball across the pitch. Isaiah Johnston, however, also deserves a lot of credit for how well he covers ground in the middle; he has a high workrate and is willing to track back and hold space behind the Wanderers' front four who typically push very high up the pitch. Patrice Gheisar will undoubtedly have discussed with his team about how they can dictate play from the middle against Valour.
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Froese in line for a debut? One exciting thing to watch with Valour is whether recent marquee signing Kianz Froese could make his first appearance for the club this weekend. Froese, a 29-year-old attacker from Winnipeg with two Canadian national team caps, signed for his hometown team a couple of weeks ago after spending the majority of his career in Germany. Phil Dos Santos has explained that Froese needs time to get up to full match fitness, but with a few weeks of training now under his belt, it's possible that Froese is ready to play some kind of role this weekend. Certainly, his experience and attacking ability will be a boon to Valour.
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Watch out for set-pieces: This is a match where both sides should be cautious not to give away too many cheap free kicks and corners. The Wanderers are one of the deadliest set-piece sides in the CPL, with Sean Rea's exceptional ball deliveries and powerful finishers like Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, who can get his head to just about anything. Valour, of course, have their own set-piece threats too. They have a number of players who can threaten with their delivery, from Diogo Ressurreição to Roberto Alarcón, and depending on who starts for them, tall players with strong aerial abilities like Rocco Romeo or Myles Morgan are serious threats.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Halifax Wanderers: Yesli; Pearlman, Meilleur-Giguère, Mekideche, Timoteo; Callegari, Johnston; Baï, Probo, Rea; Telfer
Valour FC: Himaras; Alarcón, Egwu, Romeo, Fernandez; Venancio, Figueiredo; Faria, Ressurreição, Twardek; Morgan
ALL-TIME SERIES
Halifax wins: 13 || Valour wins: 7 || Draws: 4
Last meeting:
April 25, 2025 — Valour FC 0-1 Halifax Wanderers