CPL FINAL PREVIEW: Atlético Ottawa, Cavalry FC set for iconic SNOW DAY finale ❄️
The forecast: Bitter cold, frigid winds, and up to 15cm of SNOW – the perfect backdrop for a Canadian Premier League final. But between Atlético Ottawa and Cavalry FC, who's more up for a snow-day clash?
After 116 Canadian Premier League matches in 2025, it has all come down to just one.
The CPL Final in the nation's capital on Sunday will crown a North Star Cup champion, and one of Atlético Ottawa or Cavalry FC will be the last team standing in the league's seventh season. Here are 3 things to watch for in Sunday's grand finale, available on TSN & OneSoccer:
- Atlético Ottawa's home field advantage: August 3, 2024. That was the last time Atlético Ottawa lost a match in the nation's capital, a 2-1 defeat to none other than Cavalry FC courtesy of two late goals from Ali Musse. Since then, Atleti have gone 22 straight matches in all competitions without a loss at TD Place, becoming the first team in CPL history to go unbeaten in a season at home this past campaign — albeit a mark Forge would quickly match. That will give them a tremendous amount of confidence heading into the final, especially in front of their biggest crowd of the season. A crucial factor in that home success? Second halves, where they have outscored opponents 21-4 at TD Place this stadium. If they can get the crowd into the game early and be in good shape by half-time, history says they have great odds of finishing the job.
- Few selection surprises expected: For once, don't expect much debate about either team's starting eleven heading into the 2025 CPL Final. Ottawa's team has essentially picked itself all season. Ten players started 23 or more of their 29 CPL regular-season and playoff matches this year. The only position where there was any real rotation came on the right side of the back three, with Sergei Kozlovskiy missing a decent chunk of the season on international duty. They have lined up in the same 3-4-3 the whole year. Cavalry, meanwhile, have had a little less luck with injuries and absences this season. But they have still rolled out the same starting lineup in both of their playoff matches so far, and are unlikely to change much for the final. With neither team expected to spring any major selection or tactical surprises, this match might come down to individual duals on the day.
- A battle of the league's best attackers: Finals, stereotypically, tend to be cagey affairs. With their seasons on the line, two sides meet, desperate not to make the kind of errors that could cost their team. That may well be the case when Atlético Ottawa meet Cavalry on Sunday, but it would be against both teams' nature. Atleti set the league alight this year with a CPL record 54 goals during the regular season, while Cavalry were not too far behind, scoring 47 — their most since the league's inaugural season in 2019. Sunday's match will also feature some of the league's most lethal attackers with a history of scoring in this fixture. Golden Boot winner Sam Salter of Atlético Ottawa has goals in each of his past three matches against Cavalry. Ballou Tabla also has three goals against the Calgary club this season, and David Rodríguez has a goal and two assists. For Cavalry, Ali Musse has seven goal contributions (five goals, two assists) in his past six against Atleti. Tobias Warschewski, meanwhile, has scored in each of his four CPL Playoffs games. But he has never scored at TD Place in a Cavalry shirt. While both teams will likely display some caution going forward, both are full of players who can break a game wide open in an instant — which makes for a thrilling final.
