The Columbus Crew and head coach Wilfried Nancy take on Nancy’s former side CF Montreal led by head coach Laurent Courtois, formerly head coach of Columbus Crew 2. It is both a bit of a shame and intriguing that this game falls in the midst of a tough stretch of games that will likely see some key players rested. Not only do the Crew have an away match to consider against Monterrey on Wednesday, but they also host rivals FC Cincinnati three days after that. Nancy rested players after the long stretch of matches next time, but a heavily rotated squad match up against a rival would be disappointing. In a way this match might be more poetic if Courtois faces the Capybara graduates he raised up. 

Goalkeeper Evan Bush is the only reported injury and will have a prolonged absence after injuring his wrist against Real Salt Lake. There may be some rotation and rest for some of the older key contributors. 

Here is how the Crew could line up.

Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte will get a chance to impress his former boss while playing against him. Courtois always challenged Schulte at the MLS Next Pro level to get assists. Schulte did not accomplish this while en route to a championship season with Courtois, he did register an assist against Toronto last season.

The Black & Gold have five center backs, all whom the coaching staff should have confidence in. Defender Steven Moreira has essentially been an every game starter for Nancy, but rest would do the defender well. Defender/midfielder Sean Zawadzki should start as the right center back in place of Moreira with defenders Yevhen Cheberko playing centrally and Malte Amundsen as the left center back.

Wing back Mo Farsi will look to make an impact on the score sheet against his former boss. Farsi has one goal and seven assists in MLS play over the last couple seasons, but while playing under Courtois, Farsi scored two goals and had 10 assists in league play. Wing back Will Sands will get more game minutes as Nancy continues to utilize both Sands and wing back Yaw Yeboah as left wing backs.

Midfielder and captain Darlington Nagbe will not start for this match, although could start on the bench if Nancy decides to rotate his regular starters in the second half. Midfielder Aidan Morris should start as the young man has an engine that seems to never wear down. Alongside Morris will be midfielder Derrick Jones. 

The attacking trio could see a full rotation, although it would not be surprising to see forwards Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi come off the bench in the second half as Columbus still will want to push for a victory in league play. Midfielder Alex Matan could start alongside winger Marino Hinestroza and forward Christian Ramirez. While rotation is likely in this match, the narrative is crying out for forward Jacen Russell-Rowe to score in this match. Russell-Rowe was one of the heroes against Monterrey with an incredible headed goal to give the Crew a one goal advantage in the series. The Canadian’s goal also broke a six game draw streak for the Black & Gold.