Making their first-ever quarter-final appearance at the Leagues Cup, the Columbus Crew host New York City FC on Saturday at Lower.com Field.
Earlier this week, Columbus eliminated the holders Inter Miami 3-2, while the Boys in Blue also came from behind to defeat Tigres 2-1.
Match preview
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Down a goal after one half of football on Tuesday, the Crew came to life in the second 45 minutes, scoring three times to earn the victory.
Six of their seven goals scored at this tournament have come in the second half, while they have netted three or more times in three successive encounters, including their 4-1 friendly triumph over Aston Villa.
Wilfried Nancy's men have not lost a competitive fixture at Lower.com Field since a 2-1 defeat versus FC Cincinnati in the Hell is Real Derby in May.
Columbus have netted three or more goals in each of their three knockout fixtures in this competition but have also conceded multiple strikes in two of those outings.
Not only is this team loaded with top-end attacking quality, but they are much sharper defensively than many may realise, conceding the fewest goals in Major League Soccer (MLS) this season.
Outside of the MLS Cup playoffs, the Crew have not advanced beyond the quarter-finals of a competitive tournament versus an MLS opponent since beating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 at this stage of the 1999 US Open Cup.
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Conceding the opener after 17 minutes seemed to wake up Nick Cushing's men on Tuesday as New York responded with an equaliser three minutes later and produced a winner 25 minutes from the end.
It was the first time this team had won a match in normal time despite conceding the opening goal since a 2-1 victory over Charlotte FC in April.
Since their late defensive meltdown in the group stage versus FC Cincinnati, the Pigeons have not conceded a second-half strike in their last two Leagues Cup affairs.
Saturday will be their first appearance in the last eight of this competition since 2021, when they failed to hang onto a 1-0 advantage and were eliminated on penalties by Pumas (3-2) after both sides played to a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
NYCFC have not won any of their previous eight competitive matches played outside New York, failing to score on three of those occasions.
They have never beaten the Crew at Lower.com Field, with their previous victory in Columbus taking place during the 2017 MLS regular season at Historic Crew Stadium (3-2).
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Team News
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In their victory over Miami, Columbus were missing Evan Bush once again because of a wrist injury, while Nicholas Hagen started between the sticks despite first-choice goalkeeper Patrick Schulte returning from the Olympics and being available for selection.
Diego Rossi notched a brace for a second-match running, giving him four at this tournament, the joint-second most, with the other goal coming courtesy of Christian Ramirez.
On Tuesday, the Boys in Blue did not have Andres Perea at their disposal due to a knock, while Malachi Jones was unavailable because of a broken tibia.
Maxi Moralez quickly answered the opening goal by Tigres, his first since returning to the club last year, while Santiago Rodriguez put home the winner, the third for him in his last three Leagues Cup affairs.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Moreira, Camacho, Amundsen; Matan, Zawadzki, Nagbe, Yeboah; Chambost, Rossi; Hernandez
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Freese; Gray, Martins, Risa, McFarlane; Parks, Sands; Wolf, Moralez, Rodriguez; Martinez
We say: Columbus Crew 3-1 New York City FC
The Crew appear to be peaking at the right time, and given the plethora of attacking options they possess, we believe they will find a way past an NYCFC side that have shown plenty of character since that defensive debacle in Cincinnati.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
