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After five matches of struggles and frustration, Columbus Crew SC seem to have found its form again as the Black & Gold bounced back with a solid 3-1 victory over the LA Galaxy on Wednesday at MAPFRE Stadium.
The Crew returns home on Saturday to face the other Los Angeles team, Los Angeles Football Club. Bob Bradley and Carlos Vela’s club is the best team in Major League Soccer right now, having earn 24 points in 11 games so far.
After a promising performance against the Galaxy and comments about being more conservative on rotating the roster, I expect head coach Caleb Porter to repeat the team’s formation this weekend:
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Bench: Joe Bendik, Josh Williams, Ricardo Clark, David Guzman, Niko Hansen, David Accam, Patrick Mullins.
Footnotes:
- Winger David Accam trained just once with his new teammates this week after coming over from the Philadelphia Union in a trade at the deadline, but I believe he’ll be part of the game day roster against LAFC. Accam is healthy and was playing for the Union, so there would be no reason to hold him back. Plus, he provides a different dimension off the bench, one that Porter may be excited to have.
- Defender Gaston Sauro returned to the starting lineup in great fashion as he was pivotal in keeping star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic under control on Wednesday. I expect him to start again against LAFC as Porter probably wants to keep the good momentum among his center backs, especially against the league’s top goal scorer Carlos Vela.
- Fullback Hector Jimenez scored his first goal since 2014 against the Galaxy and he’s ready to play his eighth-straight match as a starter for the Crew this weekend. The veteran should still be around for some time as Ghanaian Harrison Afful recovers from a broken jaw and should still be out for a few more weeks.
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Do you agree with this lineup? If you were the coach, which players/formation would you send out to the field against LAFC? Join the discussion and let us know in the comments section bellow!