In this edition of Oppo Research, Hudson River Blue spoke with Ty Fisher of Massive Report to learn more about Columbus Crew, New York City FC's road opponent for a second time this season. Here is your NYCFC vs Columbus preview.
• Recent Form (All Comps): W-W-W-D-W
• Record: 13W, 7D, 4L | 46 points, 3rd Place
• Scoring Leader: Cucho Hernández, 13 goals
• Assist Leader: Diego Rossi and Cucho Hernández, 6 assists
1. Columbus are on an absolute tear
Hudson River Blue: Columbus are on a seven-game unbeaten run and recently won the League Cup trophy with a win over LAFC. Is anything stopping Columbus at the moment? Can they go all the way to win MLS Cup again?
Ty Fisher: Columbus, now, is arguably the best team in MLS history. Sure, you can talk Miami and Cincinnati, maybe LAFC as far as Supporters' Shield, but no team has been consistent in league play and tournament play like Columbus. You would think they’re invincible or something.
But if we’re being real, the only thing that could stop Columbus is themselves. Yeah, they’ve played probably the most matches out of everyone in the league, but it's up to them to get the job done and gain points. One bad performance from here on out could hurt their placement in the standings. As for MLS Cup, I don’t see why they couldn’t go back-to-back. If they keep performing the way they are, everything will fall into place.
2. Fixture congestion of little concern
HRB: Columbus played LAFC at home on Sunday and traveled to Philadelphia on Wednesday. They’re back home for Saturday’s match, but do you think the travel and quick turnaround of games will affect the game?
TF: I don’t think the travel will affect it in any way. Philadelphia is almost a hop, skip, and a jump away. Wilfried Nancy threw out a heavily rotated squad against a full-on, beast-mode Jim Curtin and Philadelphia Union side and somehow managed to pull a win out of thin air. I’m expecting a healthy normal Starting XI from Nancy.
3. Nancy has Crew doing everything right
HRB: Columbus is at the top of MLS in many statistics, including the fewest goals conceded per game (0.9) and possession (60.4%). They are second overall in attempted and completed passes (86.7%). How does Wilfried Nancy consistently get the best out of his players and have his team stick to a well-worked system?
TF: Wilfried Nancy has given belief to the team. He always wants them to make mistakes because that’s how they learn. It’s an adaptive system that he has put in place. He gets asked a lot about how he does it, and it’s always the same answer. He pushes them to try harder each and every week. Little details are his specialty in my opinion, and that’s how he unlocks certain players' abilities and has the team looking like Real Madrid.
4. The X-Factor: The Columbus defense
HRB: What's the X-factor that could decide this game?
TF: The X-factor is the Crew’s defense. We saw in the Leagues Cup quarterfinal that it was a mistake in the back that gave NYCFC a 14-second lead in Columbus, putting them on the ropes. However, I think with a healthy Steven Moreira and Rudy Camacho, who did not play midweek, they will be at the top of their game to limit any NYCFC chances.
5. Predicted score, Starting XI
HRB: Prediction time: Starting XI? Final score?
TF: 3-0 and Cucho bags a brace.
