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Montreal Impact's Ignacio Piatti, of Argentina, celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps during first half MLS soccer action, in Vancouver on Sunday, Mar. 6, 2016. The return of Ignacio Piatti should give the Montreal Impact offence a much-needed boost on Saturday.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press

The return of Ignacio Piatti should give the Montreal Impact offence a much-needed boost on Saturday.

After missing the last two games with a left-hand injury, "Nacho" will be back in the Impact lineup against Sporting Kansas City at Saputo Stadium.

Montreal failed to score without Piatti on the pitch, recording back-to-back scoreless draws against Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew.

"It's really good to have Nacho back," said forward Dominic Oduro. "He's our playmaker. He's going to find us in the final third. I know we haven't scored goals, but defensively it's been better."

Piatti leads the Impact this season with eight goals in 13 games, tied for third in Major League Soccer scoring. The Argentine has found the back of the net four times in his last four MLS matches.

The midfield maestro also leads the Impact with 17 shots on goal and two game-winning goals.

Piatti was hurt in Montreal's 2-1 loss in Orlando last month. He played two more games before undergoing surgery on June 3.

"We're obviously happy to have him back," said captain Patrice Bernier. "But that doesn't mean we're just going to watch him dribble. We've been lacking energy at the front, especially last game."

Montreal (5-4-5) is coming off an uninspired 0-0 draw in Columbus last weekend.

The Impact spent much of the MLS season at the top of the Eastern Conference but have fallen to fourth. Since starting the season with four wins in their first six games, the Impact have gone a measly 1-2-5 in MLS.

A lack of offence on Saturday could be costly against Sporting Kansas City, a team that has always had success against Montreal.

Sporting KC (6-8-3) has won four consecutive meetings against Montreal over the last two seasons by an aggregate score of 11-2. The club is 6-3-1 all-time against the Impact, including 3-1-1 at Saputo Stadium.

But KC has been far from dominant over the last two months. The club has just two wins in MLS since mid-April and they are winless on the road in their last six games (0-4-2).

"They're in a bit of a tough stretch, but they've dominated practically every one of those games in terms of possession and chances," Impact coach Mauro Biello said. "They press hard, and we need to be ready for that."

KC striker Dom Dwyer has dominated against Montreal, scoring seven of the team's 17 goals against the Impact.

This season, Dwyer leads Kansas City with six goals and 54 shots.

"He's a great player, obviously," said Oduro. "But I don't care if he's scored 20 goals (against us). If you're able to contain him, that's what it is. We're not thinking about him, we're thinking more about the whole team and how we can hurt them."

In addition to Piatti, Montreal will get a boost from the return of midfielder Calum Mallace (foot injury), who has not played since a 2-0 win against Columbus on April 9.

Midfielder Marco Donadel (ankle) and defender Donny Toia (hamstring) still need at least one more week before returning to the field.

Laurent Ciman, who was nominated this week for an ESPY award for Best MLS Player, is still competing at the Euro with the Belgian national team.

Kansas City will be without Graham Zusi and Matt Besler who are playing in the Copa America third-place game with the U.S. men's national team.

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