After 49 days of waiting the Columbus Crew finally have a home match at Lower.com Field this Saturday. The Crew look to bounce back from a disappointing road loss to league leaders Inter Miami on Wednesday. Despite the loss, the Crew took 12 out of a possible 15 points on the road over the last five matches, which is a remarkable return. The Black & Gold now need to find their feet in Columbus as they have only won three of seven matches at home this year. The Crew welcome a struggling Sporting Kansas City side that has only won three times all year. Here’s the breakdown of what you need to know about SKC and how the Crew can earn an expected three points on Saturday. 

Sporting Kansas City at a glance:

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

Record: 3-5-11 (14 Points)

Leading Scorer: William Agada (5 goals)

Assist Leader: Memo Rodriguez (4 assists)

Player to watch: Erik Thommy

Thommy is the string puller in the SKC attack this season. With Johnny Russell in his final years and another Alan Pulido injury, the burden for attacking play has fallen on Thommy this year, and he’s delivered thus far. Thommy usually operates in the central midfield in the #10 role. However, he isn’t a typical #10 (think Lucas Zelarayan) he’s more of an energetic, run-making, high-engine attacking player. Thommy has the freedom to move about the field wherever he sees fit, including making runs in behind when the opportunity presents itself.  Thommy is incredibly technical on the ball and can beat players off the dribble as well as provide the finishing touch to attacking moves. While the SKC attack hasn’t exactly been purring this campaign, Thommy is a big threat for the Black & Gold on Saturday. 

How Sporting Kansas City Plays:

Death, taxes, and Peter Vermes on the touchline for SKC. The MLS’s longest-tenured coach is in his 14th season at the helm in Kansas City in 2024. Despite the slow start for SKC, there remains faith in Vermes and the team, in large part due to their remarkable turnaround last season which saw them sneak into the playoffs and upset the number one seeded St. Louis City. Vermes knows the league and his style of play inside out. Vermes pretty much exclusively plays with a back four in either a 4-2-3-1 formation or a 4-3-3 depending on personnel. For this match, I’d expect to see a 4-2-3-1 from SKC. 

I don’t expect SKC to be in possession too much on Saturday to be honest. They have one of the lowest PPDA (Passes per Defensive Action) in the league and will likely be happy to defend deep and try to hit the Crew on the counter on Saturday.

However, when they are in possession they usually operate in a 4-2-3-1 shape that is a bit unique to other similar formations in the MLS. Instead of pushing their outside backs high most of the time, SKC instead prefers to keep them a little bit deeper in the build-up. This is likely to draw opponents out of their defensive half and towards the ball to create space for their pacy attackers to run into. SKC is a little bit slower paced and deliberate like Columbus, however, won’t hesitate to play a ball in behind to its attackers. I expect to see more of this than normal on Saturday given the number of players and therefore lack of cover the Crew have at the back. 

Defensively, SKC typically shifts into a 4-4-2 shape. However, they have done different things in terms of their line of pressure defensively in 2024. At times, SKC will sit deep and defend in a middle or low block. There are other times when they will press high out of their 4-4-2 shape and try and create turnovers. When pressing high, their center backs will follow attacking players into the midfield when the ball is played into them. Vermes may have his side try to press Columbus early before settling into a low block later in the match. 

How the Crew can win:

The Crew needs to get back to winning ways in Columbus and this match presents the perfect chance to do so. SKC has struggled all year and the Crew will be in front of a boisterous home crowd that hasn’t seen them play at home in a month and a half. Despite all this, there are three key areas for Columbus to focus on during the match on Saturday. 

1. Switch the Point of Attack: The Crew have had success all year against teams who defend in a 4-4-2 when they switch the ball from side to side quickly in attack. The 4-4-2 shape requires defensive players to shift over dramatically when the ball is on one side or the other. Thus, there is space and players for the Crew to find on the other side of the field when they can switch it quickly. Look for the Crew to do this through quick combination play in the midfield and the occasional big diagonal ball as well.
2. Find the Attacking Midfielders: Diego Rossi, Alex Matan, and even Cucho need to get the ball in the midfield this game. The Crew effectively have a four vs three overload In midfield. When the Crew has possession, finding this spare man will do them loads of good in generating attacks. Look for the center backs and central midfielders to try and find them in possession as much as possible
3. Defend Set Pieces: The one key metric that SKC is near the top of the league in is goals on set pieces. The Crew just gave up a goal off a set piece on Wednesday and haven’t been convincing defending them in years. SKC will view any attacking set piece as a way to either stay or get back into the game. The Crew need to be sharp in these moments.