The Columbus Crew defeated the Colorado Rapids 3-2 on Wednesday night thanks to an impressive performance from midfielder Lucas Zelarayan, including a goal and two assists from the Argentine talisman. Despite the win, there were still some gaps in the Black & Gold’s performance that head coach Wilfried Nancy will look to reconcile moving forward.

On Saturday, Columbus welcomes Charlotte FC to Lower.com Field for an important Eastern Conference matchup as the two sides are level on points. The Crew fell 1-0 to Charlotte earlier this year and look to even the series as well as climb up the standings and continue winning ways.

Here’s what you can expect from Charlotte and what Nancy’s group needs to do to take another three points this week.

Charlotte FC at a Glance:

Record:6-3-7, 21 points

League Form: L-W-L-W-W

Leading Scorer: Enzo Capetti, Karol Swiderski (4)

Assist Leader: Justin Meram (4)

Player to Watch: Karol Swiderski

Swiderski has been the focal point of the Charlotte attack since the club’s inception last season and very much remains so thus far in 2023. The Polish international has 15 goals and seven assists in his 47 matches for CLTFC.

The Pole makes his living in the 18-yard box, his six-foot frame allows him to both compete for crosses into the penalty box as well as hold up play in possession. Swiderski has tons of talent on the ball and has the ability to beat defenders 1 v. 1 as well as shoot from distance.

Swiderski often draws a lot of attention from opposing defenses and has shown the ability to play passes to teammates in the space this creates. With much of Charlotte’s attacking threat out injured, expect Swiderski to carry the load for Charlotte on Saturday.

How Charlotte plays: 

Charlotte is beginning to create an identity in MLS under head coach Christian Lattanzio. Charlotte has settled into a 4-3-3 formation in 2023 and generally looks to do the same things when in possession every match.

The Crown looks to keep possession of the ball as much as possible and move it from side to side. CLTFC also looks to involve the outside backs in the attack by either pushing high up the field in wide areas and moving the wingers into more central areas or moving them into a more central area and keeping the winger out in the wide channel. Former Crew standout Harrison Afful did this several times in these two sides’ previous matchup. The outside back, Afful in this case, goes next to the central midfielders in the midfield as opposed to high and wide on the touchline.

This wrinkle has caused the Crew problems this year and is something to watch for on Saturday. 

Defensively, Charlotte is not a typical high-pressing team. The Crownn has a Passes per Defensive Action of 11.3, which is about average for the MLS. However, the last two times these sides met, Charlotte pressed much higher up the field and put the Black & Gold under a lot of pressure. That being said, expect CLTFC to defend in a lower block on the road and following a midweek match.

How the Crew can win:

Columbus needs to continue winning matches, especially at home to keep pace in the East. If the Crew can continue a good run of form, the team has some winnable matchups in June. Thus, this game is really important for the Black & Gold as they look to keep up with the rest of the conference before the transfer window opens up.

Here are a few keys to the game. 

Counterpress and limit transition. The lone goal in the previous matchup between Columbus and Charlotte came in a moment of transition where the Crew failed to counter press effectively. CLTFC will be happy to feast on counter attacking opportunities this time around as well. The Crew needs to do an excellent job in the first moments after losing the ball to keep the visitors at bay. 

Take chances. The Black & Gold took their chances well on Wednesday night. Columbus’ deliberate possession scheme is designed to set up all kinds of chances and half chances. When the Crew converts these chances, the team is tough to beat. When the Black & Gold aren’t clinical, they are very beatable. If and when Columbus’ attackers are on the mark, the Crew is a whole lot better. 

Defend set pieces: This will likely be a theme for a while as Columbus continues to face teams who have both faced the Crew before and have seen the Black & Gold poorly defend set pieces recently. This will be especially important in home games as teams will bank on set pieces as a way to threaten away from home.