The Columbus Crew sent a message to the rest of the league on Saturday night with their 5-1 victory over Los Angeles Football Club. The Crew were led by Christian Ramirez, who tallied a brace, and goals from Cucho, Diego Rossi, and Alex Matan. The Crew’s dominance was on display from the opening whistle and affirmed the belief that the Crew and their fans have about the Crew’s place among the league’s elite. The Crew now get ready for another difficult match Wednesday as they face Charlotte FC at Lower.com Field. Charlotte enters off a 3-1 victory over the Crew’s Hell is Real rivals, and currently sits sixth in the Eastern Conference. The Black & Gold look to further the gap between themselves and the rest of the Eastern Conference and keep pace in the Supporters Shield race with this match. Here’s what you need to know about their opponents, and how the Crew can make it six wins in a row on Wednesday night. 

Charlotte FC at a Glance:

Record: 10-5-8, 35 points

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

Leading Scorer: Patrick Agyemang (6)

Assist Leader: Jere Uronen (4)

Player to Watch: Ashley Westwood

With a hat trick of assists in the last match, Westwood is the man to watch for Columbus on Wednesday. Crew fans will also remember Westwood’s strike that handed the Crew their first loss of the season back in March. Westwood brings a wealth of experience to the table thanks to his career spanning over 15 years in his native England. Westwood featured for both Aston Villa and Burnley in the Premier League and has used the skill set that made him a stalwart in England, and here in the U.S. Westwood is the heartbeat of the Charlotte side. His ability in possession to keep the ball moving side to side, as well as pick out the final pass keeps Charlotte in rhythm and dangerous in the attacking third. Defensively, his ability to read and intercept passes as well as organize his teammates is one of the best in the league. The Crew needs to keep Westwood off the ball as much as possible to keep him from impacting the game Wednesday. 

How Charlotte plays: 

Charlotte’s first-year head coach Dean Smith has The Crown off to their best start ever in 2024. Smith is best known for his time spent coaching in the English Premier League and championship with clubs such as Norwich City, Leicester City, and Aston Villa. He’s used this experience and know-how to get the most out of his Charlotte side by helping them play “effective” soccer. Smith’s side isn’t overly complex tactically, but are effective in how they play and have a tough side to beat. 

Smith uses a 4-2-3-1 formation with CFC, as he has for most of his coaching career. That shape is evident in and out of possession when Charlotte plays. Defensively, Charlotte set up their 4-2-3-1 shape very narrowly to prevent their opponents from easily playing forward passes in central areas. They instead prefer to shepherd play to one side and try and trap the ball out wide. In the first match between these two teams, Charlotte used this shape to press the Crew’s backline high up the field in possession. The wide players in the “3” tried to force the Crew to play into a congested central midfield. Since then, Charlotte has strayed away from being a high-pressing team and prfers to defend in a lower “mid-block” just ahead of the midfield circle in their opponent’s half. I expect them to do the same Wednesday night in Columbus and possibly drop deeper, hoping to get a result on the road. 

In possession, Smith has his side well drilled on their roles and ways of operating in their 4-2-3-1. When they have the ball, they tend to take what their opponents “give” them, meaning if their opponents press high up the field, Charlotte will look to play directly in behind the backline. If the opponents defend closer to their goal, Charlotte will try and break down their opponents with possession play. In the previous match between these two sides, the Crew pressed high and Charlotte tried to play in behind. I very much expect the same to happen Wednesday night. Charlotte will keep their back four deeper than most teams when facing a high press, to draw their opponents towards the ball to press. Their two central midfielders will also stay relatively close to the backline to help circulate passes in their own half. Once the opportunity presents itself, Charlotte will try to play a direct ball in behind their opponent’s backline or to their striker for the ball to be controlled and distributed to players joining the attack. Expect to see this often from Charlotte tonight as the Crew try to apply pressure up the field.

How the Crew can win:

Columbus has a bit of an underrated “bogey” team in Charlotte. The Crew have only beaten Charlotte once in five previous meetings but will be looking to take care of business Wednesday night to make it six wins in a row. The Crew will be heavy favorites, but this game may not be as straightforward as it seems. There are a few key areas for the Black & Gold to dominate to take three points from this matchup.

1. Deal with the Long Ball: If there is one thing that could be considered the Crew’s achilles heel, it is dealing with long balls from the run of play. The Crew push so many numbers into attack, these balls are often played into a space they are recovering into defensively, which makes it difficult to track the ball, the space, their teammates, and the attacker. The difficulty is also enhanced by the players that the Crew play at the back. Very few, if any of the regulars on the backline are “naturals” dealing with aerial balls. Of course, these players are incredibly skilled in other areas that fit the Crew’s game model, but this is an area for teams to target and I expect Charlotte to do so as much as possible Wednesday.
2. Win the Transition Battle: As much as the Crew are dominant in possession and creating in possession, this match might be won in transition. Charlotte will look to exploit the Crew whenever possible in attacking transition but could also be there for the taking when the Crew attacks in transition. When Charlotte has the ball, their backline stays relatively deep in order to draw pressure to the ball to create space for them to play direct balls into. While effective, this creates gaps between the backline, midfield, and forwards. If the Crew wins the ball back and can attack quickly, they’ll have more space to play in than usual, which could lead to some dangerous attacks. 
3. Score First: This is pretty straightforward, the Crew are unbeaten when scoring first and Charlotte isn’t built to play from behind. If the Crew scores first Wednesday, they’ll be in a great spot.