Montreal @ Ottawa preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 11, 2018 ) Montreal 17, Ottawa 24

The Ottawa Redblacks look to pull away from the pack in the East Division when they host the Montreal Alouettes on Friday. The Redblacks have won four of their last five games, including an impressive 44-21 victory against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before heading into their week off, and can increase their lead to six points at the top of the division standings by completing the season sweep of the Alouettes.

Ottawa beat Montreal 28-18 in Week 4 before edging the Alouettes 24-17 on Aug. 11, and hope to extend their winning streak in the series to seven games. Montreal ended a six-game skid with a 25-22 victory against the Toronto Argonauts in Week 11. Boris Bede kicked the go-ahead field goal with 1:10 remaining to snap a franchise-worst nine-game home losing streak and the Alouettes hope to ride the momentum to back-to-back wins for the first time since October 2016. Antonio Pipken secured the win in his second CFL start while deputizing for Johnny Manziel, but the former Heisman Trophy winner returned to practice after missing the last two games with a concussion while Montreal coach Mike Sherman remained mum on which quarterback would start Friday's clash.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS

ABOUT THE ALOUETTES (2-8): Pipkin completed 22-of-32 passes for 303 yards and rushed for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Alouettes to their first victory in more than seven weeks. "It changes the energy in the room and we know we got a monkey off our back," Pipkin told reporters. "It sets us up to take the next step as we understand that winning is a process." Running backs Tyrell Sutton (quadriceps) and William Stanback (hamstring) will be sidelined Friday but kick returner/running back Stefan Logan came off the six-game injured list and could earn some carries while Montreal brought back defensive end Gabe Knapton, who was released by the BC Lions.

ABOUT THE REDBLACKS (6-3): Linebacker Kyries Hebert, who spent the previous six seasons in Montreal, is ready to return to the lineup after missing the last four games with a leg injury. "So far he looks pretty good and our full intention is to play him unless he has some kind of setback," Ottawa coach Rick Campbell told reporters. "As long as he goes through practice this week and is feeling good then he'll go." Ottawa signed Evan Gill and Dalton Houghton in an effort to add depth to the defensive line while the club released defensive back Reggie Daniels and kicker Felix Menard-Briere.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Trevor Harris has thrown for 1,229 yards over his last three games.

2. Ottawa has won three of its four games against East Division rivals in 2018.

3. Montreal LBs Chris Ackie and Henoc Muamba lead the CFL with 64 tackles apiece.

PREDICTION: Redblacks 33, Alouettes 21