The Columbus Crew is on the road for the second straight week on Saturday afternoon, traveling to the Bronx to face New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. After the dramatic 2-1 win at the Chicago Fire last week, the Crew can make it two straight wins on the road and four straight victories overall.

It hasn’t been a great first half of the Major League Soccer season for City. The Pigeons sit in 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings with just 18 points through 17 games played. NYCFC is 4-2-2 at home, which could make this a more difficult challenge for the Black & Gold.

To get a better sense of what Columbus faces on Saturday, we spoke with Oliver Strand of Hudson River Blue. The answers to our questions are below.

Massive Report: After winning MLS Cup in 2021 and finishing in third place in the Eastern Conference last year NYCFC has struggled so far this season with just 18 points. What have been the primary issues this year?

Hudson River Blue: The primary issues have been the attack, midfield, defense, goalkeeping, coaching, bench, and front office. Everything else is solid. 

For the real answer to your question, see below.

MR: Seventeen goals scored through 17 games is near the bottom of MLS. What has been the issue with City offensively this year in your mind?

HRB: Goal production is the most glaring issue confronting the club. NYCFC let Taty Castellanos go midway through last season (as planned), and have yet to replace him. Then there was an exodus of attacking talent: Maxi Moralex left, Alex Callens left, Héber was traded, and Thiago is out on loan. Those players scored a combined 33 goals last year – had Taty stayed he might have brought that number up to 40, or even 45. Gone.

They were replaced by players who had exactly one professional goal between them prior to this season. One. Those players have scored exactly one goal this year. One. Which I guess means they doubled their production, so that’s super-impressive.

You can’t win if you don’t score, and NYCFC simply aren’t scoring. Even worse, they don’t look to have the personnel who can score. That might change soon — July 5 isn’t so far away.

All that said, you can’t pin it entirely on the attack. The midfield has been wanting. Santiago Rodríguez returned to NYCFC as a Designated Player, but he has yet to put up consistent DP-level performances as the No. 10. It’s in him to carry a game, but we just haven’t seen it yet. 

MR: We hoped this game would be a battle of the Sands brothers, but Will suffered an ACL tear and is out for the season. How has the return of James Sands impacted this team and how has he played this season?

HRB: James Sands is an exceptional player, and one of the reasons why NYCFC aren’t completely out of the running. He’s a superb No. 6, and lately he’s been filling in as center-back while the team struggles with injuries and suspensions in defense. He might return to the No. 6 this week, which would be good news for the team. NYCFC are more balanced when he’s in the midfield. 

MR: There is always talk from visiting teams about playing at Yankee Stadium and the drawbacks of the baseball field. How has NYCFC been so successful there and, related, how desperate are fans to get the new stadium built and be rid of that as a home?

HRB: Nobody thinks playing at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field is ridiculous more than an NYCFC fan. The sightlines? The patchy grass? The team stores with baseball memorabilia? It’s a mess. But when other fans make fun of these fields it’s a little like making fun of New York for being crowded, or expensive, or dirty. You want to cock an eyebrow and say, “And your point is…”

I think the success at these venues has as much to do with the quality of the team as the size of the pitch. Homefield advantage is strong in MLS, and stronger when your side is good. NYCFC have been good since their inaugural season in 2015. They’re simply not as good this year, and the team lost to Philadelphia at Citi and to Cincinnati at Yankee Soccer Stadium. 

As for the bright future, everybody is thrilled about the proposed NYCFC stadium at Willets Point. I’m not sure how much of this has come though the national press, but Phase 1 of the project will be 2,500 units of affordable housing and a public school: The first order of business is to build a real neighborhood for working New Yorkers. That means a lot to the fans and the community. Once that’s underway, work will start on the stadium. 

It means the stadium will be an urban experience, an arena surrounded by apartment buildings and busy streets. Which is exactly what it should be. There are lots of good feels about Willets Point.

MR: Who are a couple of players Crew fans might not know heading into this match but likely should?

HRB: The front office haven’t brought in like-for-like replacements when it comes to the team’s best players, but they added some promising talent to the squad. Midfielder Richy Ledezma is on loan from PSV Eindhoven, and he’s showing what he can do now that he’s adjusting to the speed and physicality of MLS. Mitja Ilenič is an 18-year-old Slovenian right wingback who is going to be playing in a Top 5 league within two years. He’s fast, technical, aggressive, fearless. 

Goalkeeper Luis Barraza isn’t fully settled into the No 1 position, but he put up a career performance last week on the road against Real Salt Lake. He made four saves, triumphed in a couple of nervy one-vs-ones. RSL should have had two or three goals according to Expected Goals, but Barraza held them to scoreless — he earned that clean sheet.

MR: How do you see this game playing out? You can give a score prediction if you choose.

HRB: NYCFC were unlucky to lose to Cincinnati — poor officiating decided that game more than the play on the field. And they were unlucky to only get a draw with New England Revolution — give credit to Djordje Petrović. They were lucky to get the draw against RSL last week — give credit to Barraza. 

If the high-octane NYCFC that faced Cincy or the Revs take the field, expect an energetic win of 1-0 or 2-1. If the NYCFC that managed just one shot on goal against RSL shows up then the game is for the taking. 

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To see Massive Report’s answers to Hudson River Blue’s questions, click here.