Toronto FC striker Jozy Altidore hopes to avoid the Montreal Impact in the run-up to the MLS Cup final, but not in fear of playing a bitter rival. No, Altidore wants to see the Impact miss out on the post-season entirely.

Toronto takes on Montreal in the first of three league tilts Sunday, a strange scheduling coincidence that leaves the 401 Derby games entirely in the final stretch of the 2017 MLS season. Montreal, 17 points back of first-place Toronto (53 points), sits just above the playoff red line following a four-game winning streak.

Altidore wants to send them back below it.

"It's a great rivalry. (They're) a good team, they have great fans. But I would love it if they missed the playoffs at our expense. That'd be beautiful," Altidore told reporters Friday, per John Molinaro of Sportsnet.

Altidore's fighting words made their way over to the Montreal camp, where head coach Mauro Biello responded: "Obviously, they want to put us out, in the end, because I don't think that they'll want to face us again in the playoffs. That's normal. At the same time, we're going to focus on this game on (Sunday) and we'll let the field do the talking.

"For us, it’s important that we stay focused on all aspects."