Columbus Crew proved victorious on Wednesday as they defeated CF Monterrey 2-1 in Lower.com Field. The Black & Gold were powered by goals from Cucho Hernandez and Jacen Russel-Rowe which pushed Columbus back to winning ways after 6 straight draws in all competitions.

Before the Crew shifts focus on the return leg next Wednesday in Mexico, they welcome some familiar faces to Columbus on Saturday as they host CF Montreal. This match has storylines aplenty including the relationship between both managers. Crew boss Wilfried Nancy joined Columbus from Montreal at the beginning of 2023. Montreal’s manager Laurent Courtois is a cult hero in Columbus after leading the Capybaras (Crew 2) in their first two seasons, including an MLS Next Pro title. Montreal has been depleted by injuries thus far in 2024 and the Crew will likely rotate their squad before heading to Mexico. Regardless, three points are up for grabs and the Crew needs to keep pace at the top of the MLS standings. Here’s some background info on Montreal and three key factors for the Black & Gold

CF Montreal at a glance:

Record: 3-2-3, 11 points

League Form: D-W-L-L-L

Leading Scorer: Matias Cocarro (3)

Assist Leader: Josef Martinez (3)

Player to Watch: Ariel Lassiter 

With Montreal’s leading goal scorer Matias Cocarro, and assist leader Josef Martinez both out due to injury, the focus shifts to Lassiter. Lassiter, son of MLS legend Roy Lassiter has bounced around in MLS before landing in Montreal last year after a trade that saw him leave Inter Miami. Lassiter has flourished in Courtois’ system and has contributed two goals and an assist thus far in 2024. Lassiter has elite speed and dribbling ability that makes him a tough mark for most MLS defenders. Lassiter operates either as a left wing-back or higher up the field as a left-sided attacker for Courtois. Lassiter loves to push into the attack and use his speed to run in behind to receive the ball or run at opposing defenses. He will need to be watched closely by the Black & Gold on Saturday as he looks to exploit space behind the Crew’s backline in transition. 

How CF Montreal play: 

There’s not another team that the Crew will play in 2024 that matches up as similarly as Montreal will on Saturday. As mentioned, Montreal’s head coach Laurent Courtois spent two years as the head coach for Crew 2 and in fact was using a 3-4-3 (or 3-4-2-1) well before the Crew had begun to think about bringing Wilfried Nancy aboard. Courtois and Nancy see the game extremely similarly and use the same shapes and ideas, making this a fascinating matchup on Saturday. 

In possession, Courtois sets his side up almost identically to Columbus. Operating out of a 3-4-3 base formation, the Montreal wingbacks will push high up the field, occupying the opponent’s backline as much as possible. Montreal will also use their back three to instigate attacks and play passes into their central midfielders. Most times, Montreal will have four players in central areas, with two midfielders slightly closer to the backline to help circulate the ball and keep possession and two players closer to the frontline looking to receive the ball and kickstart the Montreal attack. The main difference between Montreal and Columbus is that Montreal is much more willing to play long, direct balls out of pressure than Columbus. This is likely an indication of the gap in quality between the players on Columbus’s roster versus Montreal’s rather than a stylistic change from Courtois. 

Defensively, Montreal is once again incredibly similar to Columbus. Montreal’s base shape when defending is a 5-2-3, just like Columbus. Montreal will use their front three to apply pressure high up the field whenever possible. However, at times they will defend closer to their own goal in a mid-defensive block in order to remain defensively solid. This defensive shape will likely create several 1v1 matchups all over the field on Saturday. 

How the Crew can win:

The Crew need to keep pace at the top of the Eastern Conference, even being in the midst of their CCC campaign. Furthermore, home games are of massive importance in the MLS and the Crew haven’t won at home since March. Saturday represents a great opportunity for Columbus to get back to winning ways in MLS play and keep building momentum in both the MLS and CCC. 

1. Exploit 1v1 Matchups: Since Courtois and Nancy largely use the same shape in and out of possession, there will be a plethora of 1v1 matchups on Saturday. The Crew, who have better players top to bottom than their counterparts, will need to win and exploit these 1v1 matchups. In doing so, it will make the Crew attack more dangerous as they pull their opponents away from their assignments. Defensively, winning the 1v1 battles will help keep Montreal’s injury-riddled attack at bay. 
2. Defend Long Balls and Crosses: There will be times on Saturday when Montreal are happy to play long balls forward and early crosses into the box. With the likelihood of Rudy Camacho and Yeven Cheberko being rested, the Crew’s backline and goalkeeper will need to rise to the task and defend these moments well.
3. Dominate Possession: The similarities between Courtois and Nancy and plentiful, but the biggest is that both sides are set up to be able to keep possession. If the Crew can dominate possession and force Montreal to defend for long periods of time, that will turn the tide heavily in their favor on Saturday.