Canadian Premier League don return for Matchweek 13, with four matches from July 16 to 18. League leaders Forge FC dey look to extend their impressive run against Pacific FC. The round follow a busy week of TELUS Canadian Championship action, and many clubs enter with different moods: Forge FC and Vancouver Whitecaps advance, Cavalry FC and Atlético Ottawa no make am, and Pacific FC go meet Forge under a brand-new head coach.
Forge FC dey face Pacific FC at Hamilton Stadium. The Terry Dunfield era at Pacific FC begin with one of the toughest assignments: a trip to face league-leading Forge. Dunfield wey dem name as Pacific head coach in May but only take the bench on July 5, after finishing broadcast duties for the FIFA World Cup. He tell the Goldstream Gazette say, ‘I think first and foremost we’ve got to be clear on who we are and what our identity is, for us to get better every single day.’
Pacific don lose their last five visits to Hamilton Stadium and no score there for more than two years. That run go hard to break against Forge side wey dey top of the table. Forge, however, arrive with some fatigue. Bobby Smyrniotis’ team need a stoppage-time finish from Antoine Batisse to eliminate CS Saint-Laurent in the Canadian Championship quarterfinal, advancing 3-2 on aggregate after Batisse score for the 94th minute of the second leg. That one be Forge’s fourth straight trip to the Canadian Championship semifinal, but the two-legged effort against a determined Ligue1 Québec side leave Smyrniotis with a decision on lineup rotation just three days later.
With 28 points separating the two clubs in the standings, this be lopsided matchup on paper. Still, a short week for Forge and a fresh voice in the Pacific dressing room add some intrigue to the opening match of the round. Forge’s price leave little room for error in the straight match-result market. Forge don dey collect victories against different types of opponent, while Pacific recently concede five goals in Halifax and then lose the return meeting at home.
Vancouver FC go host Supra for the first time at Langley Events Centre, with just three points separating the two clubs in the table. Both come into the match off contrasting Canadian Championship results. Supra hold a commanding 3-1 lead over Atlético Ottawa after a big home win in the first leg of their quarterfinal series, while Vancouver FC were eliminated by CF Montréal despite pushing the MLS side over two legs. The two CPL sides don already meet once this season, a 1-1 draw in Langley on May 23 in which Matisse Chrétien score a stoppage-time equalizer to salvage a point for Supra.
The small difference between the teams’ prices show how little separates them in the market. Supra receive a narrow home advantage, but Vancouver’s recent league performance dey difficult to overlook. A 4-0 win over Inter Toronto no automatically establish Vancouver as the better side, but e offer more persuasive evidence than their underdog price suggest. The individual recognition received by Amissi, Nash and Proctor also reflect a wider period of strong performance rather than one isolated result. The principal concern be Vancouver’s travel and recovery after facing Montréal in the Canadian Championship. Supra also get cup commitments, so neither team enter with a completely clean preparation week. With the match-result market so balanced, backing Vancouver with draw protection appear more conservative than relying on another high-scoring performance.
Provincial rivals Atlético Ottawa and Inter Toronto go meet for the second time this season at TD Place. The first meeting was one-sided: Inter win 4-1 at York Lions Stadium on May 1. Since then, Inter don manage only one win in their past seven matches across all competitions. The Ottawa trip be a homecoming for Inter Toronto’s Ollie Bassett, who spend three seasons in the capital and leave as the club’s all-time leader in appearances, goals and assists. Bassett’s 2022 CPL Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards, plus a share of the 2023 CPL Golden Boot with 11 goals, come almost entirely in an Atlético Ottawa shirt.
Both clubs need defensive improvement. Inter Toronto don concede 16 goals in their past four matches, while Atlético Ottawa don allow 10 in that span, including three to FC Supra in the first leg of their Canadian Championship quarterfinal loss this past week. Ottawa’s home-win odds look more playable than the prices attached to Forge or Cavalry. Atlético don already demonstrate their ability to produce on the road since the break, while Inter must show that the four-goal defeat in Langley was an exception. Their cup defeat to Supra indicate that dem no dey enter the fixture with uninterrupted momentum, and a midweek knockout assignment fit complicate preparation. Ottawa to win offer a clearer connection to the confirmed form and home advantage.
The round close in Calgary, where Cavalry go host Halifax Wanderers for the second time this season at ATCO Field. Cavalry win the first meeting 2-0 on June 6 and don score 10 times across their past three CPL matches, a run wey put dem among the league’s hottest attacking sides heading into the weekend. Cavalry dey come off Canadian Championship disappointment, eliminated in the quarterfinal by the four-time defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps. Ali Musse’s 75th-minute goal give Cavalry a lead in Tuesday’s second leg, but Vancouver respond through Mihail Gherasimencov to secure a 1-1 draw and a 5-2 aggregate win, sending the Whitecaps through to face CF Montréal in September.
Halifax, meanwhile, dey look to build on a rare road success. The Wanderers record their first win at Starlight Stadium since 2022 in their previous outing, and dem now try for a first-ever victory at ATCO Field. Halifax side wey don recently beat Pacific twice and score seven goals across those matches. Halifax’s 3-1 loss to Ottawa prevent the recent form from being described as fully convincing. Even so, the Wanderers don show enough attacking threat to make a Cavalry clean sheet uncertain. That make the goals markets potentially more attractive than the short home price. Vancouver’s draw-no-bet market offer an alternative in the weekend’s most balanced fixture.
