Looking to snap a run of three Major League Soccer matches without a win, Columbus Crew entertain the challenge of DC United at Lower.com Field on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the away side make the journey to Ohio in search of back to back victories for the first time this term having returned to winning ways last time out.
Match preview
Columbus Crew played out a 1-1 draw against Mexican side U.A.N.L Tigres in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup tie on Wednesday morning.
Wilfried Nancy's men fell behind to Andre-Pierre Gignac's opener in the 18th minute before restoring parity two minutes shy of the break through Diego Rossi.
This came off the back of a 2-2 draw against Nashville SC, which left the Black and Gold third in the Eastern Conference of the MLS table.
Next up is the task of facing off against an opposing outfit who are winless in the last five editions of this fixture, losing four of them.
Unbeaten in their last 13 matches on home turf across all competitions, Saturday's hosts will be confident of securing a positive result in front of their fans.
DC United claimed a much-needed 1-0 triumph against CF Montreal when the teams went head-to-head against each other at thee Audi Field on Sunday.
Troy Lesesne's men were in the ascendancy for large spells of the contest but had to wait until the 85th minute to open the scoring via Pedro Santos.
With nine points picked up from six matches this term, the Black-and-Red sit eighth in the standings, albeit just three points adrift of division leaders Cincinnati.
Aiming to pick up what would be a first away triumph since July 2023, Saturday's visitors have it all to do as they look to avoid another fruitless outing on the road.
Team News
Alexandru Matan and Christian Ramirez will feature for Columbus Crew here as they continue to nurse knee injuries, but the former is close to a return to action.
Frenchman Rudy Camacho is set to sit out a third consecutive game due to a groin problem he picked up against Charlotte a fortnight ago.
DC United's Steve Birnbaum misses out with a knee problem, while goalkeeper Nathan Crockford is yet to fully recuperate from a head injury.
Thirty-five-year-old Pedro Santos will be pushing for a start here having made an instant impact on his return to action from a suspension last time out.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Cheberko, Zawadzki, Moreira; Amundsen, Morris, Nagbe, Farsi; Yeboah, Rossi; Russell-Rowe
DC United possible starting lineup:
Bono; Herrera, Antley, Bartlett, McVey; Stroud, Peltola, Klich, Ku-DiPietro; Benteke, Dajome
We say: Columbus Crew 2-1 DC United
The teams boast similar attacking records heading into this one, and we fancy both to find the back of the net here. We are also tipping the hosts to get the job done, albeit by only a narrow margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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