Impact to be without Piatti again Saturday at Saputo

The Impact will be without star player Ignacio Piatti again when they face New York City FC in Major League Soccer action Saturday at Saputo Stadium (5 p.m., TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio).

The Argentinian midfielder has missed the last seven games after suffering a knee injury during a 3-1 win in Orlando on March 16 in which he scored two goals. Piatti scored three times in the three games he played before the injury and remains tied for the team lead in goals with Saphir Taïder, who has played nine games.

The Impact have played well without Piatti in the lineup, posting a 3-2-2 record. Heading into Saturday’s game, the Impact are tied with the Philadelphia Union and D.C. United for first place in the Eastern Conference with all three teams having 5-3-2 records.

Without Piatti’s offence, the Impact have relied on a strong defence, posting clean sheets in five of their last six games since losing 7-1 in Kansas City in the first game without their star player. Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush was named MLS’s Player of the Week on Monday after posting his second straight shutout last Sunday in a 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire at Saputo Stadium.

“First of all, I think in that game everything was against us,” coach Rémi Garde said about the loss in Kansas City when he met with the media before practice Thursday at Centre Nutrilait. “It was an incredibly bad afternoon of football for us and I think that all the credit went to Kansas City on that day. They played a very good game, but I think everything went bad for us on that day. I was pretty sure that it didn’t reflect the default and the quality of our team. But then I think it was a shock for everyone at first. I think we improved on a tactical point, but also mainly on our approach of the way we wanted to defend as a team. But once again, sometimes it’s not so huge as the score reflects the situation.”

We improved on a tactical point, but also mainly on our approach of the way we wanted to defend as a team.

New York City FC (2-1-6) is coming off a 1-1 tie with Orlando City SC last Saturday at Yankee Stadium and have earned seven out of a possible nine points from their last three games. The Impact and New York City FC played to a 0-0 draw on April 6 at Yankee Stadium.

The Impact are 2-0 at Saputo Stadium this season and 3-3-2 on the road, already matching their road win total from last season when they went 3-12-2 away from home and missed the playoffs by four points. Dating to last season, the Impact are unbeaten in their last eight games at Saputo Stadium (6-0-2) and have only one loss in their last 14 home games (11-1-2).

The Impact will donate $1 from each ticket sold for Saturday’s game to the Canadian Red Cross to help flood victims in Quebec.