The Columbus Crew are set to enter the Leagues Cup competition after a first-round bye, hosting Sporting Kansas City. This will be the Crew’s first competitive match since July 20th. In contrast, Sporting KC advanced to the knockout round by defeating the Chicago Fire, who did not win a match in the group stage. Earlier this season, Columbus dominated Sporting KC with a 4-0 victory.
The Crew have had an extended break, with only a friendly providing outside competition. The squad appears to be in good shape, with midfielder Alex Matan, who missed the match against Aston Villa due to a slight knock, returning to full training. However, head coach Wilfried Nancy has already confirmed that goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, who just returned to Columbus, will not play in this match. Additionally, new signing and right-back Andrés Herrera, who was announced earlier this week, has also been ruled out. Goalkeeper Evan Bush, still recovering from an arm injury, remains sidelined but has started to take on a limited role in practice.
Goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen will get his third consecutive start. Hagen will want to register a win after a tie and a loss. It is hard to fault Hagen for the goals allowed against Atlanta United, as the Crew seemed fully out of sorts defending against corner kicks.
There has been a flurry of moves by the Black & Gold, but it seems the defensive core will be undisturbed. Defenders Malte Amundsen, Rudy Camacho, and Steven Moreira will start this match.
The wingback room has been shaken up with the departure of wingback Will Sands and the addition of fullback Dejaun Jones and Herrera. Jones, previously with the New England Revolution, has been a revelation at left back for the Revs and likely will play a significant role for Columbus. Jones provides the Crew with more defensive experience than wingbacks Max Arfsten or Yaw Yeboah. Nancy did state that Jones was available for this game, it is unlikely he would start, expect Arfsten to start. Arfsten has made significant strides at left wing back and will likely stay in contention for the starting role. Wingback Mo Farsi will start as the right wingback in this match.
Midfielder and captain Darlington Nagbe will start this match, but the biggest question for this lineup: who will be his midfield compatriot. The Black & Gold have brought in midfielders Dylan Chambost and AZ Jackson who both are more attacking-minded. Sean Zawadzki has filled in mostly since midfielder Aidan Morris was sold to Middlesbrough, although Matan has seen minutes there as well. Sporting has struggled this year and playing an attacking, possession-minded, new signing would make sense to test in this match. Chambost joins Nagbe in the midfield to create a French-speaking triangle on the right side of the pitch with Moreira and Farsi.
This is a competitive match that could allow Nancy to try new players without much repercussion of failure. That being said, it is hard to think that the attacking trio of forwards Cucho Hernandez, Christian Ramirez, and Diego Rossi would be broken up. The trio has been prolific and in good form. Nancy could consider forward Jacen Russell-Rowe instead of Ramirez to get the young attacker some confidence before Columbus hits the final stretch in the regular season.
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