The Canadian Premier League’s sixth week of action kicks off in the nation’s capital on Saturday afternoon, where top of the table Atlético Ottawa host last place Valour FC.
Less than a month into the 2025 season and the gap between the two teams in the standings is already significant — 12 points, with Atleti also scoring 13 more times than Valour so far this year.
But Atlético Ottawa, who are on a run of four straight wins in CPL action for the first time in club history, are under no illusions that Saturday’s match will be an easy one.
“I think Valour hasn’t had luck in the past matches,” said Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía. “They’re a very good team. They have very good players. We worked this week to try to beat them, but it will be an amazing match. I think Valour come to try to win.”
Valour remain the only winless team in the CPL this year. However, they are coming off a vital 1-0 victory in the Canadian Championship against TSS Rovers on Wednesday. That was a momentum-building result for the club, both in terms of the win and the clean sheet they kept.
Saturday’s match will be a quick turnaround for Valour as a result, but they were able to manage minutes fairly well against TSS Rovers. Kris Twardek and Jevontae Layne, both of whom are suspended for Saturday’s CPL match, played significant minutes on Wednesday. Starters Jordan Faria and Themi Antonoglou were substituted out of the match early, while goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi didn’t see action.
Travelling to the nation’s capital on short rest was the same scenario for Valour the last time they were at TD Place, on July 21, 2024. That game, which came after several flight delays following a loss in Halifax just three days earlier, ended up being a turning point in their season.
A valiant 2-2 draw that day was a turning point in the club’s season, as they lost just four of their final 13 matches thereafter, and remained in playoff contention until the final day of the 2024 season. The Winnipeg club will be searching for a similarly monumental result on Saturday.
The all-time record between the two clubs is fairly even, with Atlético Ottawa winners in seven, Valour in six, and five draws. However, after winning five of the first six meetings between the two sides, Valour has won just once in the following 12.
Since a 6-1 victory over Atlético Ottawa at TD Place in April of 2022, they have scored just 85 goals in their past 85 games. So far this year, they have scored just twice in four matches.
Atlético Ottawa announced this past week that crucial central defender Amer Didić will miss several months with a leg fracture. The good news for the capital club, however, is that Noah Abatneh looks fit and ready to return.
For Valour, defender Gianfranco Facchineri and captain Raphael Ohin are close to returning, but are still questionable for Saturday’s match. With the aforementioned suspensions to Layne and Twardek, the Winnipeg club will need to rely on their depth in this match.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
Atlético Ottawa relies on youth across backline without Didić: So far this campaign, it has been pretty smooth sailing for the capital club. But they might be facing their first storm of 2025 in the form of an injury to key defender Amer Didić, who the club announced earlier this week will miss multiple months with a leg fracture. Without Didić, Ottawa’s back three is incredibly young. Tyr Walker and Loïc Cloutier are 21, Noah Abatneh 20 and Sergei Kozlovskiy still just 16. But all of them already have significant minutes under them this season, and Mejía is confident that they can step up in Didić’s absence. Still, it will be a huge test and maturation process for this young group.
Kevin Dos Santos thriving in new wing-back role: There is no doubt that one of the key players in Atlético Ottawa’s outstanding start to the season has been Kevin Dos Santos. After missing most of last season with the capital club through injury, he returned this year in a new role as a wing-back. For the hardworking and talented winger, the position has suited him perfectly, especially in Diego Mejía’s attacking system which gives him the freedom to venture forward and create chances. So far this year, Dos Santos has two goals and an assist, as well as another goal in the Canadian Championship. This past weekend against Pacific, he scored an absolute screamer to change the momentum in Ottawa’s favour. This is the first time in his career he has played in this position, but there is no doubt that he is thriving and has shown crucial versatility to be able to do so on both sides of the pitch. “It’s totally different,” said Dos Santos. “I feel free, but at the same time, I’m just eager to learn, the new position, the new system. It’s where I get to enjoy myself.”
Valour looking to be more ‘pragmatic’ on the road: So far this year, Valour FC have adopted a more possession-based style than past years, holding onto the ball and looking to break down opponents. However, there is an understanding that, especially on the road and against a side with as many weapons as Atlético Ottawa, they might need to adopt a more cautious approach on Saturday in the nation’s capital. Keeping their shape without the ball, and remaining smart with it, will be vital to the Winnipeg club’s success in this match and not allowing Ottawa any easy chances to attack their goal. Pacific showed last weekend against Ottawa that if Valour can press in smart moments, there are chances to be had, especially against this young Atleti backline.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Walker, Abatneh, Kozlovskiy; Dos Santos, Aparicio, Castro, Antinoro; Rodríguez, Tabla, Salter
Valour FC: Viscosi; Fernandez, Romeo, Egwu, Antonoglou; Mlah, Figueiredo; Faria, Ressurreição, Venâncio; Hundal
ALL-TIME SERIES
Atlético Ottawa wins: 7 || Valour FC 6 || Draws: 5
Last meeting:
Sept 9., 2024 — Valour FC 1-1 Atlético Ottawa
KEY QUOTES
“Amer is a really important player for us, not only inside the pitch but outside too. He plays a new role to help in the dressing room, he’s one of our captains. So when you suffer this kind of situation, I think Amer suffered this situation in a good place, because we care [about] him a lot.” — Atlético Ottawa manager Diego Mejía on Amer Didic’s injury
“I don’t think because they’re last that describes them. I think they’re a good team, I think it’ll be a hard game, and we know it’ll be a hard game.**” — Atlético Ottawa wing-back Kevin Dos Santos
“I think [Ottawa’s] a team from day one that showed very strong indicators, and they’ve been getting better by the week — take away the first half against Pacific. For us, it’s going to be about playing our game. We need to be good at managing the moments when we don’t have the ball, we’ll need to stay tight, keep the team compact, make sure we recognize moments to try and jump and press the opposition and do it collectively.” — Valour FC manager Phil Dos Santos
“In my opinion, there’s no better way to build momentum than going up against one of the top teams in the league. And it’s first versus eighth, it’s definitely going to be heavy favouritism for Ottawa, but there’s no better way to spoil the party in their own home.” — Valour FC defender Rocco Romeo
