Week 11 Game Preview: The Crown Takes on The Crew
After a tough loss last week against New England at home, Charlotte FC looks to rebound tomorrow night as they take on the Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio. This is an important game for both sides as they are separated by two points with The Crew sitting in second place in the east on 21 points and The Crown in fourth place with 19 points. In a matchup between two top four teams, three points goes a long way. Columbus has gone 3-1-2 at home so far this season while Charlotte has struggled on the road, mustering a 1-2-1 record away from the Fortress. Will Charlotte begin to turn it around or will the Columbus faithful will their side to a win?
Despite coming off a loss, there was some positive news from the club this past week. As many of you know, defender Nathan Byrne picked up a neck injury and will miss some time, a huge loss for sure. However, the club announced yesterday that Nathan’s surgery was successful. That is great news and I wish a healthy recovery for Nathan. In other club news, both Dean Smith and captain Ashley Westwood were fined by the MLS for comments they made after last week's loss. Neither the head coach or captain held back their frustration with the way the game was officiated.
I think the starting lineup for Columbus will be similar to last week with one major change. Coach Smith mentioned that Pep Biel has been dealing with a minor injury and it sounds like it’s a toss up if he will play and for that reason, I have left him out of my starting XI this week but on the bench. Starting upfront with Zaha and Abada on the wings with Patrick Agyemant as the main attacker. The midfield three will consist of Westwood, Diani, and Bronico. The back four will consist of a center back pairing of Malanda and Privett while Ream and Scardina guard the flanks. Finally, like so many times before, Kristijan Kahlina will be the man between the sticks. I do think we will see more substitutions and earlier substitutions as the coaching staff looks to prevent fatigue as the club plays three games in seven days. Following tomorrow's match, a U.S. Open Cup match against NCFC in Cary awaits the boys on the 6th before they hit the road to face Nashville on the 10th.
Now for my prediction, I think the boys bounce back and pick up three points in a slim 1-0 win. If Biel is unable to go, that could hurt the attacking threat as The Crown would be without the MLS leader in assists. However, I think Zaha and Abada can frustrate the Columbus defense and deliver a ball to Patrick in the box where he is able to put it past the keeper and when the final whistle blows, Charlotte FC heads back to the Tarheel State with three points.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm tomorrow night.