OTTAWA | The Alouettes already find themselves in an uncomfortable position after their first five games of the season. They don't play up to expectations. Danny Maciocia's men will try to find their bearings on Thursday night when they face the Ottawa Redblacks at TD Place.

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Coaches and players will have things to prove against an Eastern Division rival. Even though it's still July, this is a game of the utmost importance.

However, the Alouettes must be wary of the Rouge et Noir, which is still looking for its first victory this season (0-5). These are two formations that have escaped meetings that they should have won.

"We have to be focused on the task at hand," said Eugene Lewis. You have to be disciplined from start to finish. You have to be driven by a sense of urgency.

“You have to understand what situation we are in and what we need to do to get out of it. We must stop talking and execute on the ground.

We can expect a very close match between these two teams.

“I expect a very physical match, mentioned Danny Maciocia. This is a match where both teams will give their all. The games against our eastern rivals always have a certain importance in the standings.

The offense must roll

This week, the offense will have to produce from start to finish. During the game against Edmonton, the Alouettes only scored one touchdown in the second half. They weren't able to hammer the final nail into the coffin.

"We have to run our games," Lewis said. When our coaches call your number, you need to be able to hit the big plays.

“It is also a question of will between the two teams. We'll have to be the hungriest. We know that the Rouge et Noir will want to come out in force because of their record.

Quarterback Trevor Harris will start. He had some good streaks last week, but he was the victim of interceptions at bad times. Anthony Calvillo worked with him during practice to eliminate waste in his game.

At the collective level, the Montreal coordinators repeated the word discipline all over the place before, during and after training. Penalties have hurt the Alouettes since the start of the season.

With a few fewer tissues on the field, they will improve their chances of securing their second victory in 2022.

The hungry Red and Black

For its part, the smiles are not numerous at the Rouge et Noir. He suffered another heartbreaking loss last week against the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton.

Kicker Lewis Ward narrowly missed a 54-yard field goal with seconds left in the game. The pot begins to boil in Ottawa. The decisions of head coach Paul LaPolice are not always unanimous.

The Ottawa team would like to savor a first victory with the passage of the Alouettes.

"The past is the past. We must not look back on us, underlined Antoine Pruneau. We can't go back on those games that we lost by a few points, but we can certainly learn from that.

“The key for us will be to finish strong. We know that the match can be played in the last minutes. We will have to find the strength and the energy to win this match.”