The Columbus Crew and Sporting Kansas City will meet on the international stage for the first time Friday as the two sides vie for a place in the last 16 of the Leagues Cup at Lower.com Field.
A 2-1 defeat versus Toluca on Monday relegated KC down to second in the West 4 table, while the Crew had a bye to the knockout stage as the reigning champions of Major League Soccer (MLS).
Match preview
© Reuters
Columbus have had nearly two weeks to rest and prepare for who they might face in the round of 32 as they seek a place in the last 16 of this tournament for the first time.
Wilfried Nancy's men have only suffered one defeat in their last eight encounters (2-1 versus Atlanta United), earning a convincing 4-1 friendly victory over Aston Villa the last time out.
Since losing the CONCACAF Champions Cup final to Pachuca in June (3-0), this side have rediscovered their scoring touch, netting multiple goals in seven of their previous 10 encounters, counting that victory against Villa.
The Crew are undefeated in their last five matches played at Lower.com Field, scoring a combined 15 goals over that stretch and conceding only two.
Throughout the 2024 MLS campaign, the Crew have been airtight along the back end, conceding a league-best 0.96 goals per game in the regular season while also leading the league for the fewest goals allowed at home (seven).
They are the toughest team in MLS to dispossess, averaging a league-high 60.3% possession in the regular season and leading in pass accuracy (86.7%), while they average 2.04 goals-per-game domestically, second behind the Supporters' Shield leaders Inter Miami (2.24).
© Reuters
For a second successive campaign, Kansas City have made it beyond the group stage of this tournament, giving them a chance to win a Leagues Cup knockout fixture for the first time.
Sporting have not fared well in their previous two elimination games at the Leagues Cup, losing at this stage last year 4-1 to Toluca, while they were hammered 6-1 by Club Leon in the 2021 quarter-finals.
With 1.58 goals per match in the 2024 regular season, this group have the fourth-highest goalscoring average in the Peter Vermes era, with 14 of their goals across all competitions occuring on set pieces.
That said, no one on the current squad has ever found the back of the net versus the Columbus Crew as a member of SKC, with Memo Rodriguez and Khiry Shelton finding the mark against them with the Houston Dynamo (2020) and New York City FC (2016) respectively.
Friday will be their second away match against an MLS opponent in this competition, with Kansas City losing on penalties at FC Cincinnati in the group phase last year.
KC have lost nine of their last 10 away matches in the 2024 regular season, suffering a 4-0 defeat in their only previous visit to Lower.com Field in June.
Team News
© Reuters
The only injury concern for Columbus heading into this contest is reserve goalkeeper Evan Bush, who has been dealing with a wrist issue.
First-choice keeper Patrick Schulte is back from international duty with the US Olympic Team, while Taha Habroune should be available after helping the United States Under-20 squad win the CONCACAF Championship on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Mexico.
Diego Rossi is one of six MLS players in the 2024 regular season with at least nine goals and 10 assists, Cucho Hernandez leads them with 13 goals in all competitions and Darlington Nagbe is first in the league regarding pass accuracy (95.8%).
In their defeat to Toluca, Sporting were missing Memo Rodriguez due to a quad issue, Logan Ndenbe returned from a torn ACL sustained last season and Felipe Hernandez is out indefinitely because of alleged illegal betting.
John Pulskamp and Jake Davis were back from their Olympic duty with the US the last time out, while Daniel Rosero came on as a substitute after sustaining a hamstring injury earlier in the campaign.
A brilliant strike from Canadian striker Stephen Afrifa temporarily drew his side even with Toluca, his first of the competition.
On Friday, Tim Melia can surpass his current assistant coach, Kerry Zavagnin, for fourth in all-time appearances for SKC in all competitions, and Daniel Salloi needs one goal or assist to reach 100 goal contributions with the club across all competitions.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Moreira, Camacho, Amundsen; Farsi, Nagbe, Matan, Arfsten; Rossi, Russell-Rowe; Hernandez
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Davis, Castellanos, Voloder, Ndenbe; Walter, Radoja, Thommy; Russell, Pulido, Afrifa
We say: Columbus Crew 4-2 Sporting Kansas City
With so much time off since their last meaningful game, it may take the Crew a little while to get a rhythm going, but once they find a breakthrough, we believe the floodgates will open.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
