How to Watch: Crew vs. New York City FC

Everything you need to know for Crew’s return home to face NYCFC.

By Orri Benatar@obenatar512 Oct 18, 2020, 5:30pm EDT

Sunday night soccer in Columbus is happening. The Columbus Crew has got itself an incredibly important match at MAPFRE Stadium against New York City FC on Sunday night in the final home match of October. This is the third meeting this season between the two teams. Crew won the first battle 1-0 in Columbus and NYCFC won the second match 1-0 in New York.

The tables have turned for these two teams since the meeting back in August. The Black & Gold don’t have a win in their last four matches with unexpected losses to the Montreal Impact and FC Cincinnati in the team’s last two encounters. The August match to NYCFC was the first time Columbus conceded in open play. The Crew don’t have a clean sheet in nearly a month.

New York City broke a bad run of form with that win against Columbus. Since then, the Pigeons have turned into the Eastern Conference contenders that were expected from the first day of the season. NYCFC has moved up to sixth place and have only lost two games since August 24. But the Pigeons haven’t won the last two matches with a draw to Orlando City in the team’s last match.

Lineups:

Your #Crew96 Starting XI pres. by @MAPFREIns #CLBvNYC
— Columbus Crew SC (@ColumbusCrewSC) October 18, 2020

| Starting XI #Crew96 #CLBvNYC | @hays_us pic.twitter.com/pSEIQLQS9n
— New York City FC (@NYCFC) October 18, 2020

Injuries and suspensions:

Crew: Defender Vito Wormgoor, Midfielder Darlington Nagbe, Midfielder Lucas Zelarayan, and Goalkeeper Eloy Room are all OUT.

NYCFC: Midfielder Gedion Zelalem, Defender Tayvon Gray, Forward Heber, and Midifielder James Sands are all OUT.

How to watch:

Date: Sunday, October 17, 2020, 6:00 p.m. ET

Venue: MAPFRE Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)

TV: SportsTime Ohio, YES

Radio: English: 97.1 The Fan - Spanish: Columbus Crew YouTube

Streaming: ESPN+, DAZN App

East Standings:

1. Toronto FC (18 GP, 38 Pts)

2. Philadelphia Union (18 GP, 35 Pts)

3. Columbus Crew (17 GP, 31 Pts)

4. Orlando City (17 GP, 31 Pts)

5. New England Revolution (18 GP, 28 Pts)

6. New York City FC (18 GP, 27 Pts)

Around the league:

It’s an eight-game Sunday in MLS across the country as we start to see the playoff push intensify. Notable encounters include first-place Toronto FC hosting Atlanta United, the Portland Timbers taking on Los Angeles FC in Oregon, and New York Red Bulls getting a chance against Orlando City.