CF Montreal v New York City FC: Jansen desperate for defensive fix on the road

Pascal Jansen may still be trying to figure out how New York City FC’s defence collapsed against FC Cincinnati, but he must look ahead to their next MLS clash on the road at CF Montreal.

The Pigeons played out an eight-goal thriller last time out in the league, drawing 4-4 with Cincinnati after two concessions in second-half stoppage time.

That left New York seventh in the Eastern Conference table after nine games, though Jansen knows that his side have to improve defensively if they are to mount a charge up the standings.

“If you concede the way we did, because we scored four goals, that should be way enough to win a game,” Jansen said, looking back at the Cincinnati draw.

“And conceding four goals the way we did is something that I can’t just wrap my head around just yet.”

Jansen specifically pinpointed New York’s issues with set-pieces as he looks to atone for their mistakes when they visit Montreal.

“Second goal, that comes from a set-piece,” Jansen started. “What happened against [Inter] Miami? Third goal, a late situation from a corner, we get down.

“A set-piece against Vancouver [Whitecaps] just before half-time. But we’ll get it right. It hurts now because it was so unnecessary.”

Back on the road this weekend.

https://t.co/Ks9vSMK9qH pic.twitter.com/MSHUCuGMN2

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) April 23, 2026

Montreal will also fancy testing Jansen’s leaky defence after they thrashed the New York Red Bulls 4-1 in their last MLS outing.

Only three players had scored for Montreal leading into that win, but they added another three as Matty Longstaff, Mahala Opoku and Victor Loturi were all on target.

They will need to continue delivering goals from all areas if they are to improve on their 13th-placed position in the East.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

CF Montreal – Prince Owusu

Prince Owusu will be key to any Montreal success here, given he leads the team scoring charts with five goals in the league after scoring from the penalty spot against the Red Bulls.

He also finished with four goal contributions (one goal, three assists) last time out. Owusu is the second Montreal player to record four goal contributions in an MLS match, joining Ignacio Piatti.

New York City FC – Nicolas Fernandez

Nicolas Fernandez has led the way for New York this season, scoring eight times in MLS play.

The striker ranks second among the league’s top scorers in 2026, having scored twice last time out in the thriller with Cincinnati.

Too easy. pic.twitter.com/Rc19TSUuDa

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) April 23, 2026

MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK CITY FC

The Opta supercomputer could not look past an away win for New York in the data-backed simulations; however, the Pigeons have not won in their last five league games.

Montreal, however, ended a four-game losing streak with their victory over the Red Bulls last time out.

Montreal also won the last meeting 1-0 when these two last met in MLS action, with Victor Loturi scoring the winner in the first half. In fact, they have managed to win the last three encounters between this pair, dating back to October 2024 – in that period, they have scored four goals without conceding.

But these two teams do come into this clash in mixed form, leaving all results on the table as both need a result to kick-start their early-season form.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

CF Montreal – 27.8%

Draw – 24.2%

New York City FC – 48%