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CF Montréal wants to avoid a little déjà vu on Saturday.

As the Major League Soccer playoff race heats up, Montreal (8-12-10) is undefeated in three games and is favored to win when the last-place San Jose Earthquakes visit Saputo Stadium.

But Laurent Courtois' men were still expected to win a month ago when they hosted the New England Revolution, bottom of the Eastern Conference, in a demoralizing 5-0 defeat.

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The head coach hopes his team has learned from this experience.

“Paradoxically, given such scenarios, we have not been good this year, although we managed to perform against very important teams in the league,” Courtois said Friday at CF Montréal's training facility. “We will really focus on this point, remember what is important and say: look out, there is a lot of quality in this team and they have nothing to lose.”

“It’s very dangerous.”

In a season full of ups and downs, Montreal sits in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with 34 points, two points behind the playoff line with four games remaining in the regular season.

Toronto FC (36 points) is in eighth place but has played one game more than Montreal, while Philadelphia Union (36 points) is ninth and occupies the final wildcard spot.

Atlanta United FC, Nashville SC and DC United are hot on Montreal's heels with 33 points each.

The 5-0 loss to New England was followed by a 4-1 away loss to Cincinnati FC on August 31st, but since then Montreal has triumphed with two convincing home wins and a comeback draw away from September 14th to 21st to get back into the fold game to come the postseason picture.

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“To be able to bounce back like the boys did after the setbacks we suffered is very strong,” Courtois said. “Sometimes we do surprising and disappointing things even though everything is within our reach, and sometimes they really impress me with their resilience, quality and competitive spirit.

“We fluctuate a little bit between the two, but we hope we can maintain this form.”

Tom Pearce, an English left-back who moved to Montreal from Wigan Athletic in July, said team discussions after those defeats turned things around.

“We came together as a group and staff and just had an honest conversation like we needed to turn things around, we needed to get the confidence back and start enjoying football again,” he said. “Since then I think we have done well in games, training has been better and confidence has increased.

“The staff simply convinced us that we would continue to play the way we wanted and that we would continue to do well. Then we keep our fingers crossed that we make it to the playoffs.”

San Jose (5-22-3) is by far the bottom of the league with 18 points, 10 fewer than second-worst New England. The Earthquakes enter Saturday's game without a win in their last four games (0-3-1)

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A win is especially important given Montreal's upcoming schedule. After Saturday, the team plays Atlanta on Wednesday and next Saturday at Charlotte FC, which is in sixth place in the East.

The regular season ends October 19th at home against New York City FC, which is seventh in the conference.

“At the end of a season and with a playoff push, I think being in a series now is crucial,” midfielder Bryce Duke said. “It gives us momentum for the last four games we have and then, at the end, for the playoffs.”

After experimenting with his starting XI for most of the year, Courtois has found a lineup that he can confidently play until the end.

Defenders Fernando Alvarez, Gabriele Corbo and George Campbell regularly start in a back three, striker Josef Martinez is the first choice up front and Canadians Samuel Piette and Nathan Saliba hold down the central midfield.

Then there's the new attacking midfield partnership of Duke and Caden Clark, which has helped Montreal score six goals in three games.

Continuing that offensive approach against San Jose was the key to Saturday's win, Duke said.

“I don't expect it to be an easy game because I think we've all seen in this league that any team can beat any team,” he said. “Anything can happen, but just go in, realize we are at home, attack, attack, attack, try to score goals, get the three points and keep moving forward .”

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