| Inter Toronto vs. Atlético Ottawa Oct. 25 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ont. Watch Live: OneSoccer Tickets available here |
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The 2026 regular season comes to a close for Inter Toronto at York Lions Stadium this weekend, as they host an Atlético Ottawa side with one eye already on the upcoming CPL Playoffs.
It's not the highest-stakes matchup between these sides in recent memory, but there's still always plenty of entertainment on offer when these two Ontario rivals meet.
Toronto will end their campaign on Sunday, looking to end the year on a positive note. They can still finish as high as sixth place, if they win and the Halifax Wanderers lose. That would be little consolation for a team who had preseason ambitions of lifting a trophy, but it would at least send their fans home with a smile.
Ottawa, meanwhile, know that they're already locked into third place in the table, and after this match they'll be focused on a semifinal matchup with either Forge FC or Cavalry FC — whichever side finishes in second place.
The two-legged postseason matchup would kick off next weekend at TD Place, where Atleti will begin their North Star Cup defence.
This week, the challenge for their head coach Gustavo Leal will be balancing rest with form. It's been a long season for his players, and he might take this opportunity to lighten the load on some of the usual starters.
However, it's unlikely that Leal will rotate his squad entirely; it's also important to enter the playoffs with some momentum.
Atleti lost last Saturday to Forge, but won each of the three games before that. Another three points this week would give Ottawa another boost of confidence, which they will need plenty of in a playoff matchup with one of the CPL's top two.
Matches between these teams in 2026 have been split; Atleti won last time Toronto visited the capital, back on Aug. 28, thanks to a dramatic 98th-minute winner by Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau.
Earlier in the season, however, Inter Toronto battered Atleti 4-1 at York Lions Stadium in one of their best performances of the year.
This may not be the marquee matchup of the CPL's regular season finale, with much more at stake in other games, but these two sides will still endeavour to entertain in Toronto.
NEWS & NOTES
- Atlético Ottawa midfielder Diego Gutiérrez and Inter Toronto defender Max Ferrari are both suspended after receiving red cards in their matches last week.
- Inter Toronto head coach Mauro Eustáquio will not be on the touchline on Sunday, as he is away completing a UEFA coaching licence.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Inter Toronto: Campos; Lopez, Sturing, Leon; Guzman, Bassett, Yeates, Kibato; Badibanga, Skublak, Jimoh
Atlético Ottawa: Kalongo; Arnaud, Dunn, Kozlovskiy, Coulanges; García, Castro, Aparicio, Antinoro; Khoury, Habibullah
