There ain’t no rest for the wicked, and there ain’t no rest for the Columbus Crew either. After a euphoric come-from-behind win against their FC Cincinnati on Saturday, the Crew make the trip down to Nashville to face off against another side sniffing around the top of the Eastern Conference.

The Black & Gold find themselves looking up at Nashville in the current standings on goal difference. If the Crew can win, they could find themselves top of the league with some help from other contests. Back-to-back road wins four days apart in the Major League Soccer may seem unlikely, but like we saw last Saturday, sometimes the Crew does its best work in improbable situations.

Nashville at a glance:

Record: 12-5-5, 41 points

Recent Form: L,W,W,W,W

Leading Scorer: Sam Surridge (16)

Assist Leader: Andy Najar (7)

Player to Watch: Sam Surridge

Sam Surridge is finally showing the level that was expected of him when he joined Nashville back in Summer 2023. The Englishman joined Nashville for a reported $6.5 million from Nottingham Forest in the middle of the inaugural Leagues Cup. Despite his high price tag and obvious ability, Surridge struggled early on in his time in Nashville, scoring five goals and providing two assists during his brief tenure in the league. Surridge improved in 2024, recording 15 goals and three assists in all competitions. Thus far in 2025, Surridge has rewarded Nashville for sticking with him by contributing 18 goals and two assists in all competitions so far. Benefiting from Head Coach BJ Callaghan’s 4-2-3-1 system, Surridge’s form has reignited operating as a central striker for Nashville. In fact, Surridge is tied with Messi as a top scorer in MLS play. Surridge is an exceptional finisher who thrives on service, of which he gets plenty from his teammates. While not a huge 1v1 threat, Surridge does have the ability to jive and jink his way past defenders in the box to create goal-scoring opportunities for himself as well. The Crew will remember well what Surridge can do after he fired Nashville ahead inside the first two minutes of the previous matchup between these two sides. The Crew centerbacks will need to keep Surridge close on Wednesday night to keep him quiet in the Music City.

How Nashville SC plays: 

Nashville Head Coach BJ Callaghan is continuing his cult hero status in his first full year in Nashville. Best known for leading the USMNT to the 2023 Nations League title, in the midst of Gregg Berhalter’s “break” from the national team, Callaghan was able to parlay his exploits with the USMNT into the Nashville job last summer. Despite an underwhelming beginning to his time in Nashville, Callaghan and his side are one of the best teams in the league and are in the midst of a fantastic run of form. Before losing to Inter Miami on Saturday, Nashville’s last loss came all the way back on April 19th. Yes, you read that correctly, Nashville were 15 games unbeaten in all competitions up until a few days ago. Callaghan and his side have an established style of play that allows them to dictate games and be incredibly tough to beat. 

Operating generally out of a 4-2-3-1 formation, Nashville can win games in a variety of ways. They currently rank 15th in possession per match, indicating that they are a competent possession team but aren’t necessarily reliant on it. When Nashville was in possession against the Crew last time, they kept their back four relatively deep in their own half and used their two central midfielders to swing the ball from side to side to draw the Columbus pressure towards them. When possible, Nashville then looked to play into the frontline’s feet and launch an attack towards the Crew goal. This allows them the ability to keep the ball due to their numerical advantages in their own half, as well as create space for Hany Mukhtar and Surridge to exploit. In their previous match against Columbus, Nashville only held about 33%  of possession. It will be interesting to see if Nashville try to keep more possession at home or if they are content to let Columbus have the ball and hit the Crew on the counterattack.

Defensively, Nashville is a very solid team, ranking in the top 10 for clean sheets, top five for goals against per match and the top three for xG conceded. This is largely due to their well-defined shape and structure defensively. Almost exclusively, Nashville defends in a 4-4-2 shape with Hany Mukhtar joining Sam Surridge in the front line. Against the Crew, Nashville were eager to press out of this 4-4-2 shape and allowed their wingers to join the front line when the ball was on their side of the field. The central midfielders are responsible for both preventing the Crew’s midfielders from playing forward, as well as blocking passing lanes into the Crew’s front line. When necessary, the Nashville backline showed a willingness to step into midfield to support the press as well. It’s fair to expect that Nashville will be even more aggressive in their press in the friendly confines of Geodis Park on Wednesday night. 

How the Crew can win:

Despite having yet to win in the Music City, the Crew and their fans are full of confidence after their victory in the Hell is Real derby. When you combine that victory with the fact that the Crew have beaten the current Supporters Shield leaders in three of their last five games, that confidence appears to be well deserved. This is another crucial game at the top of the Eastern Conference and indeed the top of the entire league. Here are three things to look out for as the Crew look to gain three more road points on Wednesday. 

1. Stop Nashville in Transition: Transition is always the name of the game for the Black & Gold, but especially so against Nashville who thrive on transition. Hany Mukhtar especially will need to be contained in transitions. If the Crew have a good rest defense structure and effective counterpress like usual, they should be able to limit Mukhtar’s touches in transition.
2. Find the Overload: The Crew will have an overload in central midfield, with at times 3-5 players operating in central areas. Nashville will defend with two central midfielders. It will be crucial for the Crew to find these free players and use them to launch attacks on Wednesday night.
3. Start Better: As much as we all loved the Crew’s come-from-behind victory on Saturday, the fact remains that the Crew have made a habit of going behind early. Sam Surridge scored in the second minute in the previous match between these sides. While comebacks are fun they are not always sustainable. Look for the Crew to score first on Wednesday.