By Bane Rossi
Match Overview
Who: Columbus Crew at Houston Dynamo FC
When: Saturday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Shell Energy Stadium
How to Watch: MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app
How to Listen: 97.1 HD3/The Fan Stream, La Mega 103.1 FM
Current Standings: Columbus Crew – fifth in Eastern Conference; Houston Dynamo FC – fifth in Western Conference
For the first time in six weeks, the Black & Gold are back on the road when they travel south on Wednesday night to face Houston Dynamo FC.
Three Things To Know
2 – First things first, the Crew will play two road matches between now and Saturday night. The midweek match in Houston is followed up by a meeting in Montréal. Not only is that a lot of traveling, but it’s also two clubs in two different environments. Basically, it’ll be difficult, but something that the Crew will embrace, said head coach Wilfried Nancy. “We have three [away] games and we have two games left before the break, and the idea is to try to make a run,” Nancy said. “We’ll see what we’re going to be able to do. For me, I’m pleased to play against Houston and in Houston because we know that it’s going to be a difficult game, but what can we do to be able to have a good performance there? For me, this is the most important. After that, we’re going to go to Montreal. Montreal also they are fighting for a spot in the playoffs. For me, this is two really good games with two different styles to see how we’re going to be able to face this kind of thing.”
50 – The Crew’s attacking continues to lead MLS in terms of total goals scored. With two against Toronto on Saturday night, the Black & Gold are up to 50 this season, which is tied for the league lead. This is second time the club has reached this mark through 25 games (it took 24 games in 1998), which is a testament to this team’s firepower. It’s also worth noting that entering Wednesday in Houston, the Crew is coming off a season-high in total shots with 31. We’ll see if that’s sustained, but the point here is that Columbus has proven it’s able to create – and score.
5 – The vibes are on the uptick in Houston, as the Dynamo have rattled off three-straight wins. One of those helped the club advance to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final, where it’ll meet Messi and Inter Miami CF. But on Saturday, Houston won, 3-0, at Real Salt Lake off six shots. The club sits fifth in the Western Conference standings. However, it should be mentioned the Western Conference is extremely close in the standings. There’s only a five-point difference between third-place Seattle Sounders FC and Minnesota United FC, which sits 11th.
When They Last Met
Wednesday is the first meeting between the sides since the 2020 MLS Cup-winning season. Back on Oct. 24, 2020, the teams tied, 1-1, as the Crew’s lone tally was an own goal from Víctor Cabrera in the 67th minute.
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