The Columbus Crew end one of the more topsy-turvy weeks in club history with a Leagues Cup round of 32 match against Minnesota United on Friday night at Lower.com Field. The Crew will look to continue to build off of the team’s 4–1 drubbing of Club Amèrica on Monday which allowed the Black & Gold to win their group and host Minnesota.

Columbus, who sold Lucas Zelarayan earlier this week and then subsequently replaced him with Uruguayan Diego Rossi, looks to continue the team’s fine form and advance in the Leagues Cup knockout rounds. Minnesota comes into this match after finishing second in the Loons’ group thanks to a win against Puebla and a narrow loss to Chicago Fire.

Here’s everything you need to know about Minnesota and how the Crew can punch its ticket to the Round of 16. 

Minnesota United at a Glance:

League Record: 7-7-8, 28 points

Form: L-W-D-W-L

Leading Scorer: Bongokuhle Hlongwane  (2)

Assist Leader: Hasani Dotson, Kevin Arriaga, Zarek Valentin (2)

Player to Watch: Bongokuhle Hlongwane

While new signing Teemu Puki deserves a shout, Hlongwane is in too good of form to ignore at this spot. Hlongwane has four goals in two Leagues Cup matches and has been red hot for the Loons this year.

The 23-year-old South African plays primarily on the right and has benefited a ton from the arrival of Puki and Emanuel Reynoso’s return to play. Hlongwane has blazing speed that allows him to get in behind opposing defenses with and without the ball. His speed also allows him the ability to arrive in the penalty box unmarked after seemingly out of the play.

With the added focus of Puki and Reynosa pulling the strings, Hlongwane has benefited from the additional space provided to him. With the Black & Gold’s wing backs advancing so high up the field. There will be plenty of space for Hlongwane in attacking transition as well which Columbus must account for. The Crew need to do well to keep Hlongwane at bay in front of them, while still limiting Puki and Reynoso’s touches. 

How Club Minnesota plays: 

Head coach Adrian Heath is in year seven with the Loons and has helped Minnesota become a stable force in the Western Conference. Heath has done this through a series of good signings, like Puki, Reynoso and current Black & Gold midfielder Kevin Molino.

However, Heath’s tactics have been the biggest factor in his tenure, allowing his side both stability and freedom and the ability to make small tweaks to suit his players and their game-to-game tactics. Heath’s sides almost always line up in a 4-2-3-1. Defensively, however, Minnesota takes up more of a 4-4-2 shape and defends in a mid-block with pressure starting in between the opponent’s 18-yard box and midfield. This shape and tactic are remarkably similar to Columbus under former head coach Caleb Porter.

The Loons will look to apply pressure when the ball goes to wide areas and jump passes in the central part of the field to spring a counter attack. When in possession, Minnesota pushes the fullbacks high up the field and drops a central midfielder in between splitting center backs. This allows the team to build with a back three shape and keep players in high, wide areas. This also allows the wingers the freedom to come into the central channels or stay wide for isolated matchups. When the wingers do move inside, Reynoso and Puki will often make diagonal runs into the space vacated by their teammates. 

How the Crew can win:

1. Play through the lines. Columbus will have the majority of possession in this match and will need to be sharp in order to break down the Loons. Thanks to their 4-4-2 defensive shape, Minnesota has 3 distinct lines of defense: the forward two players, four midfielders and four defenders. For the Crew to be the most successful, the team must play passes through these lines, particularly the midfield, to break Minnesota down. Look for the Black & Gold to play passes from the center backs into the forward line before launching attacks. 
2. Rest  defense. The Loons will pose a big threat on the counter attack against Columbus. Hlongwane, Reynoso and Puki will all be eager to run into space and attack the Crew after committing numbers forward. The Black & Gold did an excellent job in their rest defense against Club Amèrica and will need to do so again here to limit  Minnesota’s scoring options. 
3. Defend set pieces. Columbus is the favorites in this match but set pieces are the great equalizer in soccer. This is especially true in this matchup as the Crew has some weaknesses in defending set pieces and Minnesota has some very capable attackers on these dead ball situations. The Black & Gold need to limit the set pieces they face and defend the ones they do well.