| Atlético Ottawa vs. Halifax Wanderers May 17 at 1 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. AT TD Place in Ottawa, Ont. Watch Live: OneSoccer Tickets available here |
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Twelve days after a historic win at BMO Field over Toronto FC in the TELUS Canadian Championship, Atlético Ottawa return to TD Place looking to get their league season back on track.
While it was a statement result and performance for the Canadian Premier League champs, they resume league action sitting in seventh among the league's eight teams.
Through five matches, they have scored a joint league low of four goals. Only Pacific has conceded more than the ten they have shipped. That included four in their last league match, a humbling 4-1 loss to Inter Toronto.
The Halifax Wanderers themselves are also looking to respond to a match in which they conceded four times, a 4-0 loss to Forge FC in Hamilton in the Canadian Championship.
After going unbeaten in their first three matches of the year, Halifax have now suffered three straight defeats in all competitions. They have been outscored 9-2 in that stretch, with both of their goals from the penalty spot. So like Atleti, they have a lot to prove heading into Sunday's clash in the capital.
Winning in Ottawa as the away team, however? That has proven to be incredibly difficult of late. The capital club are now 24 unbeaten at TD Place in all competitions, dating back to August 3, 2024.
Halifax have only ever won once in 11 trips to the nation's capital, all the way back in 2021, and earlier that year were on the losing side of Atleti's first-ever win at TD Place.
Both teams, in particular, would love to ignite their attacks on Sunday.
The visitors have scored just one of their seven goals from open play this season, the fewest in the league.
After a historic attacking season in 2025, meanwhile, Atleti are averaging just under 0.7 expected goals and 2.8 shots on target per 90.
Following a hat-trick against Toronto FC, however, could that be the confidence boost Ballou Tabla needs to become the key piece of this Atleti attack once again? He is still searching for his first league goal of the season after scoring 11 in 2025. He does, however, have five career goals against Halifax, tied for the most he has managed against any CPL club.
On the Halifax side, the majority of their goals this season have come through Isaiah Johnston, who leads the league in goal contributions with five (three goals, two assists). Considering the 24-year-old has already tied his career high for goals in a season, the Wanderers will need other attacking weapons to step up.
Can Sartini's side steal a rare win in the capital, or is Atleti's championship hangover done after their CanChamp confidence boost?
NEWS & NOTES
- Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía is suspended for Sunday's match due to yellow card accumulation.
- Santiago López is continuing his recovery from an ankle injury but they are hoping to have him back soon for Atlético Ottawa
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Atlético Ottawa: Crampton; Mbomio, Abatneh, Kozlovskiy; Assi, Castro, Aparicio, Timoteo; Antinoro, García, Tabla
Halifax Wanderers: Carducci; Sow, Linder, Alphonse; Troisi, Olguin, Johnston, Callegari, Godinho; Bahamboula, Kachwale
KEY QUOTES
"Halifax is in a similar way to us right now, because they are trying to find their best performance. I think they have a very good concept, they defend really well. They try to be aggressive sometimes, so it's going to be a tough match. But I think if we are capable of doing the simple things really well, we will have a lot of chances." -- Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía
