The Columbus Crew rebounded from their first defeat of 2025 quite nicely with a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday. The Crew got goals from Sean Zawadski and Max Arfsten to secure the points against Bruce Arena and the ‘Quakes.

Columbus now enter the toughest part of their season to date, with dates against the top six teams in the East and a midweek trip north of the border to Montreal over the next seven games, followed by a visit from current league leaders Vancouver Whitecaps. The overwhelming feeling amongst Crew fans is that this portion of the season will show how good Columbus really is as they test themselves against the best in the league. First up in the month of May gauntlet is the recent perennial “Bogey Team” Charlotte. The Crew have only beaten Charlotte once in their six meetings, managed two draws, and tasted three defeats. Factoring in the strange circumstances around some of these meetings (weather delays, referees from Hell, etc.) and you can understand why most Crew fans roll their eyes when they see Charlotte on the Crew’s schedule. Luckily for Columbus, the past has no bearing on this match and the Crew are fully capable of earning three points to maintain their strong position in the Eastern Conference.

Let’s dive into everything we need to know about Charlotte FC and learn how the Crew can earn another home victory.

Charlotte FC at a Glance:

Record: 6-1-3, 19 points

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

Leading Scorer: Pep Biel  (3 Goals)

Assist Leader: Pep Biel (6 Assists)

Player to Watch: Pep Biel

Pep Biel has not so quietly benefitted from the offseason acquisition of Wilfried Zaha by Charlotte. With the former Manchester United and Crystal Palace star occupying a lot of the opponents attention, Biel is afforded the time and space to damage opponents. The 28 year old Spainard is in his first full season with Charlotte after joining in the summer window last season and he has hit the ground running after his first full offseason. Biel spends most of his time on the right wing for Dean Smith, but has the freedom and ability to be impactful from anywhere in the attack. Biel’s best attribute is his insane passing ability which enables him to hit accurate passes from almost any distance to unlock defenses. Biel is also an adept ball striker making him a threat any time he receives the ball in the attacking third. The Crew will need to do a good job limiting his involvements and keeping him from playing forward on Saturday.

How Charlotte plays: 

Dean Smith is in year two in charge down in the Queen City, after leading Charlotte to the playoffs in year one, Smith has his eyes set on trophies in year two. Smith is a manager who has been around the highest level in the Premier League and Championship and has extensive experience and managerial “know-how” to help his teams get results. While Smith’s side may not be the most tactically complex, his teams are always effective, clear on their roles and responsibilities and ultimately very hard to beat.

Smith prefers to use a 4-2-3-1 formation with CFC, as he has for most of his coaching career. However, he has also opted for a 4-3-3 formation at times this year to try and get a more attacking minded player in midfield. While I doubt that will be the case Saturday, it’s entirely possible. Regardless of formation, Charlotte’s tactics won’t change with their formation. 

Defensively, Charlotte normally set up their defensive 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 to create turnovers and win the ball in dangerous areas. Charlotte has been a high pressing side at times this season and may look to do so early in Columbus on Saturday. However, I fully expect them to defend in more of a mid or even low block as the game progresses with an eye on getting a well earned road point at the very least.

When they have the ball, Charlotte looks to push their outside backs high up the field and move their wingers inside. However, since the addition of Tim Ream, CFC has also shifted their back four to a back three in possession to create a shape very similar to Columbus’s 3-4-2-1 in possession. Regardless, Charlotte will look to keep the ball when possible. That being said, Charlotte won’t shy away from playing long balls into the wide channels to allow their attackers to run into space. This has been especially true in recent meetings with Columbus as Charlotte has looked to take advantage of the Crew’s high line early and often. Don’t be surprised to see them do more of the same on Saturday.

How the Crew can win:

Columbus will be looking to capitalize on their home matches in this upcoming phase of the season, with plenty of tests coming up on the road, winning your home matches needs to be a priority for Wilfired Nancy’s men. Below are the three things most important to earning three more points on Saturday.

1. Deal with the Long Ball: 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. We have seen the Crew struggle to deal with these balls all season, and Charlotte has the threats to hurt the Crew in this area as well as a willingness to play long balls. Look for the Crew backline and goalkeeper to deal with these swiftly and effectively.
   
2. Find the Attacking Midfielders: Diego Rossi and Daniel Gazdag namely. The Crew will have at least one and possibly two extra players in the midfield on Saturday. Look for the Black & Gold to find Rossi and Gazdag as much as possible to unleash them on the Charlotte backline.
   
3. Don’t Let the Bus Park: Charlotte hasn’t hesitated to “park the bus” in Columbus before and the Crew shouldn’t give them any reasons to do so on Saturday. Look for the Crew to score first and continually attack on Saturday to force Charlotte to come out of any defensive shells they may find themselves in on Saturday.