The Columbus Crew host Tigres UANL for the first leg of the quarterfinals in the Concacaf Champions Cup, but it does not seem like good tidings for the home side. Injury concerns, while mostly minor, have piled up to make this match more difficult as well as star player and forward Cucho Hernandez potentially not seeing the field due to team policy. 

Head coach Wilfried Nancy did not comment after repeated attempts to discern what led to Cucho’s absence, but his status for the match will be decided on game day. Complicating the decision for Nancy is that veteran forward Christian Ramirez remains sidelined with injury. Midfielder Alex Matan has been out for three straight matches, and the seemingly omnipresent Sean Zawadzki is doubtful to play due to a head injury sustained after a collision with defender Steven Moreira.

Zawadzki’s absence will be missed in the defense as the Black & Gold cope with the loss of defender Rudy Camacho who is out for this match. Camacho, Matan, and Zawadzki all may be short-term absences, but the growth of the injury report will make Crew fans anxious for this match. 

Here is how the Crew could line up, with Hernandez included:

Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte must be on top of his game to keep the Black & Gold in this match. Tigres forward Andre-Pierre Gignac has bested many goalkeepers in past versions of the Champions Cup. Schulte will need to communicate clearly and organize his backline, with both Camacho and Zawadzki out Schulte will have to have good communication with whoever plays in the center of the back three. 

Speaking of the back three, Nancy will rely on the leadership and abilities of Moreira to sacrifice and play in the middle of the back three with defender Malte Amundsen to his left and wing back Mo Farsi to his right. Moreira played a match in the center of the back three before Zawadzki took ownership of the position last season. 

With Farsi playing center back, wing back Max Arfsten will fill in as the right center back with wing back Yaw Yeboah playing in his typical position. Yeboah was at the heart of good attacking play for Columbus on Saturday but Nancy thought the Ghanaian could have had a better game. Let’s see Yeboah put on that better game against Tigres.

Midfielders Aidan Morris and captain Darlington Nagbe will have to have stellar performances keeping possession and breaking up passing sequences if the Crew are to overcome their roster difficulties. If Morris and Nagbe can dictate the patterns of the game, Columbus has a shot at this match regardless of their roster difficulties. 

If the Black & Gold opt to be without their talisman in Cucho Hernandez, then winger Marino Hinestroza will need to step up and build on his game-tying goal performance over the weekend. Nancy joked that Hinestroza would be the coach for this match due to his experience in Liga MX. Expect forward Diego Rossi to start in the attack. The Uruguayan looks snake-bitten after failing to convert his penalty kick. Rossi has provided pivotal assists but will need more if Hernandez cannot get back into the team for this match. Forward Jacen Russell-Rowe will start if Hernandez is out.