MONTREAL — How the Montreal Impact play at home in the next few weeks will determine the team's fate this season, according to veteran defender Laurent Ciman.
Six of Montreal's next eight games in Major League Soccer are at Saputo Stadium starting Saturday against FC Dallas.
The Impact are coming off a 2-1 home victory over the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, with Michael Salazar and Blerim Dzemaili scoring for Montreal.
"Playing at home in MLS gives you a real advantage, more so than in other leagues in Europe, for example," said Ciman. "We have to get as many points as possible at home."
The Impact are 5-2-1 at home this season compared to 1-4-5 on the road. Nine of Montreal's remaining 16 games this season will be played on home soil.
"Teams need to come to Montreal knowing it will be difficult to get points," added the Belgian international. "We need to win in front of our fans. It's as simple as that."
Mauro Biello's men are undefeated at home in their last six games in all competitions and have won four straight at home in MLS. Montreal's last defeat at Saputo Stadium was more than two months ago.
"This is a big week for us," said Biello. "Everyone keeps talking about our home games, but now we have to play and perform and get points from those games."
Montreal started the second half of its season with a win against Philadelphia despite a mediocre performance. The victory put the Impact five points away from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand on the Columbus Crew and Orlando City SC.
"We're just creeping up now," said goalkeeper Evan Bush. "We're trying to find points to get in that top six. To do that, you need to win your home games."
Added striker Matteo Mancosu: "We have many games at home. We need more intensity on the field, especially here. The fans help us and we want to give them many victories."
The Impact (6-6-6) will very likely have Argentine midfielder Ignacio Piatti back in the lineup on Saturday, which will give a big boost to the home side's already-potent offence. Piatti missed the team's last three games with a groin injury. Montreal went 2-1-0 in his absence.
Piatti's return sets up a tantalizing partnership with Dzemaili and Mancosu in the attacking third. Alternating injuries have kept the trio apart for much of the season. Since Dzemaili made his Impact debut on May 13, only once have the three of them been in the starting lineup together.
Holding midfielder Hernan Bernardello will miss the game due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Bernardello went into the referee's book for unsportsmanlike conduct in stoppage time on Wednesday. That late-game indiscipline could force Biello to reluctantly start captain Patrice Bernier, who spent the last three weeks with the Canadian national team at the Gold Cup.
FC Dallas (8-3-7), second in the Western Conference, is one point behind leaders Sporting KC with two games in hand. The visitors have lost a league-low three games this season (tied with Toronto and Chicago).
Dallas is coming to Montreal on 11 days of rest but with a few missing players of its own. Goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez, defender Matt Hedges and midfielder Kellyn Acosta are all with the U.S. national team.
"I'm hopeful that we can start off the second half of the season with a win in Montreal on the road," Dallas centre back Walker Zimmerman told the team's website this week. "I think that puts us in a very good spot for the rest of the year."
Notes: The Impact signed left-footed centre back Deian Boldor on loan from Bologna this week. … This is the sole meeting between Dallas and Montreal this season.
Kelsey Patterson, The Canadian Press
