The Columbus Crew look to collect all nine points in eight days when they host Toronto FC. This is the first edition of the Trillium Cup for the 2024 campaign. Columbus is the current Trillium Cup holder after defeating Toronto 3-1 on aggregate last season and looks to defend their title against their rival.

TFC is building around new head coach John Herdman, previously with the Canadian Men’s National Team. Toronto has already won more games and scored more points than last season where they finished last in the league despite having one of the largest payrolls, so signs of improvement are showing North of the Border.

The availability report stays the same for the Crew, goalkeeper Evan Bush (arm) and forward Jacen Russell-Rowe (international duty) are the only players unavailable. The new midfielders AZ Jackson and Dylan Chambost will not be available for selection until the secondary window opens on July 18th. 

Here is how Columbus could lineup:

Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte now leads the league’s best defense, as the Black & Gold are now the only team averaging less than one goal against a game. Schulte and the Crew were the benefactors of a controversial VAR review that wiped out a Nashville SC goal. Toronto has two talented Italian designated players in Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi who can score from outside the box. 

Head coach Wilfried Nancy may have found his preferred starting center back lineup, with defenders Malte Amundsen, Rudy Camacho, and Steven Moreira starting back-to-back games and allowing only one goal in those games. 

Wingback Mo Farsi will start this match showing again his incredible endurance. Wingback Yaw Yeboah registered an assist after coming on for winger Max Arfsten, both players have been fully engaged and pushing for the starting role. Nancy will have a hard decision between Arfsten and Yeboah but Nancy might give Yeboah this match. Toronto winger-turned-wingback Fernando Bernardeschi will line up opposite the left wingback. While the Italian is talented on the ball, there is space to expose the Toronto defense behind him. 

Midfielder Sean Zawadzki gave Black & Gold fans a scare when it looked like he sustained a knee injury, but the young American battled through the knock to finish the match. Zawadzki participated in practice ahead of the Toronto match. Zawadzki will start again in this match alongside midfielder and captain Darlington Nagbe. 

After the match, Nancy said he is really happy for forward Christian Ramirez, who has five goal contributions in the last five matches. The only game in the last five that Ramirez did not contribute was against Inter Miami, in which he did not start. Nancy also stated that he “likes to change when it is the moment, the formation or shape or players. I have no problem to change if we win or stay with the same team if we lose.”

While Nancy can say this to keep teams guessing, Ramirez has contributed a goal or an assist in six of his seven MLS starts, registering four goals and three assists across those eight matches. Ramirez did not score or assist in the away debacle of a match against Charlotte where he came off injured 23 minutes into the match. Forward Cucho Hernandez has 10 goals and six assists in 14 matches while fellow forward Diego Rossi has six goals and eight assists in 19 matches. A frontline of Hernandez, Ramirez, Rossi brings 37 combined goals and assists in MLS play this season. This is the most goal dangerous attack for the Black & Gold.