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The Columbus Crew beat D.C. United 2-0 in the home opener at Lower.com Field last weekend with two goals from Lucas Zelerayan, the Major League Soccer Player of the Match Day for Week 2. After the performance, the team looks to carry on the results against Trillium Cup foes Toronto FC on Saturday night at BMO Field.
After a heartbreaking Week 1 result, Toronto bounced back in game Week 2 to tie Atlanta United on the road. To add to the results, Designated Player midfielder Lorenzo Insigne was injured against D.C., striker Adama Diomande went out with a hamstring injury and his replacement Ayo Akinola also went down with a hamstring injury as well.
Can the Crew build on last week’s result on the road? Our staff gives their predictions for the game against Toronto FC.
Drew McDaniel
The Columbus Crew continue its winning ways, this time in the cold in Toronto. Wilfred Nancy is no stranger to playing in freezing temperatures in Canada and should have the boys fit and ready to go. While he may not start, Jacen Russell-Rowe will score a late winner to further Toronto’s early season woes. Federico Bernardashi will score another goal for the Reds, but it will not matter as Crew will win with two late goals.
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Adam Miller
The first leg of the Trillium Cup should be a good one as the Black & Gold cross the border to face Toronto on Saturday. Toronto is winless in their first two matches but possesses all the talent in order to be a threat in MLS over the course of a season. After a good performance over D.C. United, Columbus enters with the opportunity to make a statement in the Eastern Conference. I think this game will be played at a slow pace before ramping up toward the end of the match. Toronto will take the lead early before Cucho Hernandez equalizes and opens up his 2023 goal scoring account and earning the Crew a point on the road.
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Nathan Townsend
The Crew faces Trillium Cup rivals(?) in Toronto FC this weekend and the team will be looking to build on its success from their home opener against D.C. United. The Crew has come out with a dynamic attack but a defense that has been shaky at times. Toronto, on the other hand, has come out limping with only one point in the team’s first two games. This game will feature plenty of chances on both sides, but in the end, the Crew will do enough to limit the damage to a single goal, while Cucho Hernandez and Alexandru Matan each score their first goal of the season to give Columbus the win.
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Collin Johnson
The Crew has played four halves of soccer this season and three of those halves were pretty good! Columbus has gotten much younger while also changing the football system and getting some promising returns. Meanwhile, Toronto FC is somehow still a very old team relying on older players who are often injured. Lorenzo Insigne is still a strong maybe a match that will also miss Ayo Akinola and Adama Diomande. Road games are always tough but, as Brett Hiltbrand mentioned on this week’s Massive Report Podcast, Toronto is one of the easiest road trips, purely from the perspective of comfort, that the Black & Gold make. The Crew will build on their progress this year but will ultimately come up just short of a win on this quick trip north.
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Austin Mucchetti
After a convincing win against D.C. United last weekend, the Black & Gold will look to continue their winning ways. Toronto has one point in their two opening games, losing to D.C. following two (very) late goals and a draw to Atlanta United. Toronto could also be without Lorenzo Insigne, who came off with an injury in their 3-2 loss to D.C. I can see this one being much more in the Crew’s favor as they gain more experience playing Wilfred Nancy’s style of soccer.
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Grant Miller
The Black & Gold travel to face Toronto FC in their Canadian Rival’s home opener. The Trillium Cup use to be a big deal, and it still packs a star-studded punch. Lorenzo Insigne could be back in the lineup for this one, and even though TFC hasn’t looked the part, the team is always dangerous. The Crew will play well, and Wilfried Nancy’s DNA will continue to develop but home-opener magic carries the home team to saving a point in a game where both teams feel like they left points on the table.
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Patrick Murphy
In Week 1, the Crew went on the road and played well for about a half of soccer before the Philadelphia Union was able to turn things up. Last week was much better at home against D.C. United in the first win of the year. Toronto FC played a free-flowing game and lost to D.C. in the first week of the year but was much more defense-focused last week in a tie at Atlanta United.
These are two teams that are still trying to figure things out for the 2023 season and it wouldn’t surprise me if it plays out that way. I expect TFC to be more offensive than the team was last week on the road, but wary of what the Black & Gold are capable of offensively. I will also be interested to see how Wilfried Nancy approaches another road game.
I think it’s all even at the end of Saturday night at BMO Field.
Columbus Crew 1 Toronto FC 1
Caleb Denorme
The Black & Gold will cross the northern border on Saturday to take on Toronto FC away from home. Toronto is struggling with some injury issues, which means the Crew must capitalize and take three points in this first edition of the 2023 Trillium Cup. I believe the Crew will do just that with a Cucho Hernandez goal and an Eloy Room shutout. Columbus began to show a semblance of learning Wilfried Nancy’s tactics last week against D.C. United, but this road test against Toronto will shine a light on how far the Crew has come under the new head coach.
Columbus Crew 1 Toronto FC 0
Ryan Schmitt
The Columbus Crew played a brilliant match against D.C. United. It showed everything that Wilfried Nancy has tried to instill in the team, from possession to balanced defense to a quick counter attack. With Toronto being severely weakened, I think the Crew wins this game with a goal from Cucho Hernandez, Alexandru Matan and Aidan Morris. The defense will continue to improve and the defensive lapses will be less frequent.
Columbus Crew 3 Toronto FC 1
Do you have a prediction for tonight’s match? Let us know in the comment section below.
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