The Columbus Crew have rebounded well from their disappointing loss to Inter Miami FC. The Black & Gold have outscored opponents by a combined 9-1 scoreline with wins against Sporting Kansas City and New England in back-to-back contests. The Crew host Nashville SC in a midweek match.

Columbus and Nashville tied in the reverse fixture, much to the disappointment of the Black & Gold faithful. Nashville is currently in seventh position in the East, has dismissed their head coach, and has not shown much attacking prowess in recent weeks. The Crew should be able to continue their hot streak against Nashville, but they should not take this game lightly. In their last MLS loss, head coach Wilfried Nancy cited a lack of humility, potentially the players thought they had already won the match due to circumstances leading up to it. While the Black & Gold are the better team entering the match, Wednesday’s clash could serve as a trap game.

The Crew unavailable report is the same as last match, goalkeeper Evan Bush is out for at least a couple months recovering from another broken bone in his arm and forward Jacen Russell-Rowe continues to compete in the Copa America with Canada. 

Here is how Columbus could lineup:

Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte will start the match, it is unlikely that Nancy would start anyone over the MLS Cup Champion if he is fully fit. There is likely a point where Schulte and fellow goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen are out on international duty, because of this and the injury to Bush, the Crew could bring along goalkeepers Stas Lapkes or Cole Johnson, who have shown promise at the MLS Next Pro level. 

Nancy might rotate the defensive trio a bit, but the need to play Sean Zawadzki at midfield makes it difficult to rotate too many bodies. Expect defender Yevhen Cheberko to start in this match while defender Rudy Camacho begins the match on the bench. Flanking Cheberko will be defenders Malte Amundsen and Steven Moreira. A wrinkle Nancy could throw to add a player into the center back rotation would be to give defender WIll Sands a chance to play left center back. Sands has not seen any playing time since Columbus’ win in Chicago and has exclusively played as a wingback. Nancy likes to tinker with the position players have normally played and potentially this could be an option as the left wingback position will be a tough roster spot for Sands to break through.

Speaking of the left wingback position, winger Max Arfsten will start in this match. Arfsten has been a revelation in the last two matches, scoring a wonderful Justin Meram-esque “meat hook” shot against New England. Arfsten might have staked claim to the starting spot, especially against teams that will bunker more. Arfsten’s technical ability, two-footedness, and ability to score make him difficult to defend and game plan against.

Arfsten will create space or take the attacking space given to him against an opponent like Nashville. Unlike the left wingback position, the right wingback does not have as much depth. Wingback Mo Farsi has proven to be a reliable player but Arfsten and Zawadzki have been his primary backups. It would not be surprising to see a return to the experiment with midfielder Alex Matan as a wingback, especially with an anticipation of a large amount of possession in this match. That being said Farsi has an engine that seems to be boundless and he will likely start in this match. 

Midfielder and captain Darlington Nagbe and Zawadzki will use the first 60 minutes of this match to improve their chemistry. If this match was away Nagbe might have been rested for midfielder Derrick Jones, but given the better restorative time of not having to travel midweek or the following match, it should be expected to see him start both matches while being relieved in the middle of the second half. 

This might be a match where the Black & Gold rotate slightly in their attack. Forwards Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi both could start, but both played the majority of the match against New England and will feature against Toronto as well. There could be a plan to rotate Hernandez or Rossi, or both on in the second half to attack at a backline with heavier legs while preserving their own legs for the end of the match and the Saturday clash against Toronto. Earlier this season Nancy employed this strategy while juggling midweek CONCACAF midweek matches. Look for Hernandez to start alongside forwards Marino Hinestroza and Christian Ramirez.

Giving playing time to some players who are bubble starters should keep the intensity high as they look to improve their playing time moving forward. Players like Amundsen, Arfsten, Cheberko, Hinestroza, Matan, Ramirez, and wingback Yaw Yeboah arejockeying for more playing time.