The Columbus Crew hosts New York City FC following the Black & Gold’s midweek tie at Inter Miami. Columbus and City last met less than a month ago in the Brox. The Crew will have extra motivation to win this match as they gave up a goal in stoppage time, resulting in a draw.

Columbus will have more players available for this game than last meeting. Wing back Will Sands remains out with a knee injury, midfielder Aidan Morris is unavailable due to personal reasons — head coach Wilfried Nancy could not provide a timeline for Morris’ return and forward Jacen Russell-Rowe is still on international duty at the Gold Cup with Canada. Newly signed defender Yevhen Cheberko is with the team but is not fully fit to play at this point after his last season ended in Croatian on May 28.

Taking that all into account, here is how we believe the Crew will line up against the Pidgeons.

Last meeting goalkeeper Eloy Room and playmaker Lucas Zelarayan were away on international duty and defenders Milos Degenek and Gustavo Vallecilla joined Sands on the injury report. 

Here is how Columbus may lineup against the Pigeons:

Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte continues to start. Since taking over the job for Eloy Room, Schulte has done nothing to lose it and continues to be a fit for the Black & Gold head coach’s playing style.

Degenek will anchor the backline as Columbus looks to put together a stronger defensive performance at home after giving up a late goal in Miami. Defender Steven Moreira will start as the right center back after coming off the bench midweek, while wing back Malte Amundsen starts as the left center back. 

With Amundsen playing as a center back, winger Yaw Yeboah will start as a left wing back. Both Amundsen and Yeboah give Nancy players that are strong in possession and handle their defensive responsibilities well. A major part of Nancy’s defensive philosophy is to have the ball, control the pace and give the team options to rest with possession. Mohamed Farsi will man the right wing back position. 

With Morris still unavailable, Nancy will fill his midfield with midfielders Alexandru Matan and captain Darlington Nagbe. Matan has played a variety of positions over the season and has been a major contributor. Nancy must find a way to keep him on the pitch.

The highly productive trio of forwards Cucho Hernandez, Christian Ramirez and Zelarayan will be the attacking line. In the last match, Hernandez registered his team-leading 10th assist of the season while Ramirez and Zelarayan both have eight goals, tied for the most of any Crew player. Zelarayan also has seven assists.