The Columbus Crew continue their extended road trip as they travel to take on Orlando City SC. Orlando have had a disappointing start to the season after finishing second in the Eastern Conference standings last season. The Crew beat the Lions in overtime to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

Star forward Cucho Hernandez, who provided the game-winning assist in the playoff win, will miss his third game in a row. Hernandez has been on the injury report for a back injury, head coach Wilfried Nancy said he could have played in the midweek game last week against CF Montreal, but has been ruled out the last two games. Goalkeeper Evan Bush has been back in training, he will not be available in this game but should be fit for when both goalkeepers Patrick Schulte and Nicholas Hagen will likely be away for international duty. Forward Marino Hinestroza came off due to injury against the Chicago Fire but was training Monday and Nancy confirmed his availability. 

Here is how Columbus could lineup:

Last season Schulte struggled to control his box as Orlando rallied to a late comeback, but Schulte had the final say as he and the defense held the Lions scoreless in the playoffs. Orlando have been inconsistent in the attack, scoring one or less goals in nine of their 17 matches, six of those matches they were held scoreless.

Forward Duncan McGuire left the last match with a shoulder injury, while DP forward Luis Muriel has only scored twice, scoring both goals in a match against the Philadelphia Union. 

The Black & Gold defense will looks to take advantage of the slower developing chemistry along Orlando’s front line as they hope to shut out the Lions. Leading the defense will be defender Rudy Camacho. To Camacho’s right will be defender Steven Moreira and to his left will be defender Yehven Cheberko. 

Wingback Will Sands will get a chance at left wingback while Yaw Yeboah will be on the bench. The Ghanian scored the game winner in the MLS Cup after spending the 2023 season to develop into a useful wingback. Neither player has distinguished themselves as the clear favorite in the 2024 season and Nancy has been tinkering at that position. Wingback Mo Farsi will start at the right wingback position.

Midfielders Aidan Morris and captain Darlington Nagbe have suffered a combined 53 fouls this season, this by far leads the league for a central midfield pair. Columbus have the ball more than any other team which inherently leads to them being fouled more, which the Crew lead the league in with 211 fouls suffered. As the Black & Gold have the ball more than any other team, they also are less likely to foul, which is reflected in the Crew having the lowest amount of fouls in the MLS with 114. Columbus also have the lowest amount of yellow cards with 18. Opposing teams seem to be targeting Morris and Nagbe with fouls which might lead to Nancy giving some early rest to the duo as they look towards a higher goal of winning the Concacaf Champions Cup.

The Crew faithful certainly hope that the rest Hernandez is receiving will see him on the pitch June 1st when Columbus takes on Pachuca for the CCC final, but fans also will not be too worried about the attack with Hernandez off the pitch. DP forward Diego Rossi scored his first MLS goal last match when he seemed to predict that Chicago would fail to deal with a loose ball in the box, while forward Christian Ramirez also scored his first goal of the season. Forward Jacen Russell-Rowe looks to be having a breakout year with the first team as he has already scored more goals than he did all of last season. Russell-Rowe was the Golden Boot winner in the inaugural season of MLS Next Pro and has shown that he is able to compete at the first division level. All this is to say that Columbus will not be hampered by missing a player or two in the attack, even a player as talented and important as Hernandez. The starting attackers in this match could be Rossi and Russell-Rowe starting alongside midfielder Alex Matan.