The Columbus Crew will take on Club América in the Leagues Cup at Lower.com Field in a rare Monday night game. The wind has been taken out of the sails in this match to some degree, as both teams have already qualified for the knockout rounds after their respective results against St. Louis CITY SC. 

With no official injury reports in the Leagues Cup, it is hard to say how healthy the Crew is heading into this match. Midfielder Alexandru Matan has not been on the bench for the last two matches while defender Steven Moreira was an unused substitute against St. Louis. Both players have been training, however. Defender Will Sands remains sidelined for the rest of the year with an ACL injury.

Considering that the Black & Gold have already qualified in the Leagues Cup, and that the team will play again in four days, fans could see a slightly rotated lineup against Amérrica. However, Columbus will want to test its abilities amongst one of the best teams in Liga MX and will put out a strong lineup. Here is how we predict it will look.

The sure-handed goalkeeping veteran Evan Bush will start again in the Leagues Cup. The Ohio native has made all his appearances for the Crew this year outside of MLS play and will continue this trend on Monnday.

Unlike the last match, Moreira will start along the backline. He will be accompanied by converted center back, Sean Zawadzki who has been in this position over the last couple of matches. This will be Zawadzki’s biggest test yet. Wing back Malte Amundsen will continue to start as the left center back, with defender Yevhen Cheberko substituting into the game during the second half. Cheberko is still getting fit and used to the team, and putting him in the starting lineup against Club America seems a bit much.

Wing back Julian Gressel will not start — confirmed by head coach Wilfred Nancy in his pre-match press conference — but the German will get time in this match. Wing back Mo Farsi will start on the right and will have a lot to play for with Gressel now on the roster. Winger Yaw Yeboah has grown as a left wing back and will start again. 

Captain and central midfielder Darlington Nagbe will start alongside Aidan Morris. Club Américan was able to carve St. Louis open in the middle with quick, accurate passing out of the midfield. This will be a huge challenge that could define the two midfielders’ play for the rest of the tournament. Maintaining possession and disrupting Club América’s build up will hinge on Morris and Nagbe.

Forward Jacen Russell-Rowe has had a tough couple of outings. He has found the back of his own net twice, once for Columbus and once for Canada, while missing a couple big opportunities. He did have a wonderful assist against the Portland Timbers. With this game not carrying the weight of qualifying for the next round, Nancy will give Russell-Rowe another opportunity to find his footing. Alongside Russell-Rowe will be Lucas Zelarayan as the playmaker and forward Cucho Hernandez.