The Columbus Crew will look to vault back into the playoff race in an away match against Charlotte FC on Saturday evening.
Columbus (5-8-5, 20 points) has taken four points from their three league games since the end of the World Cup break. The Crew advanced to the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup with a tight penalty shootout win over Pumas, but they’ve struggled in MLS play. Interim manager Laurent Courtois is 2-1-1 since taking over for former coach Henrik Rydstrom, and, sitting three points behind ninth place, needs positive results soon to jump back into the playoff race.
“We’re glad to get back to MLS,” Crew midfielder Dylan Chambost said on Thursday. “We’re not happy with our ranking right now, so we know we have three games in a week to do better. Obviously, Charlotte is a good team. I think we lost last year over there.
“So, we want to play our game. We want to fight again because it’s going to be tough on turf.”
The Crew could expect an attacking upheaval from new arrival Josef Martinez, who won the 2018 league MVP and has scored the sixth-most goals (130) in league history. Martinez, who played under Courtois at CF Montreal in 2024, fills the Crew’s need for a striker after Wessam Abou Ali tore his ACL in April.
Charlotte (7-7-4, 25 points) could also get some more attacking firepower from a new arrival. Former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin joined Charlotte in time for their final Leagues Cup match, winning a penalty in just 18 minutes of action. Saint-Maximin and Charlotte finalized a deal in July but had to wait until the Frenchman’s visa issues were cleared up.
“I will do my best to be a legend for the club. I want to stay here for a long time, unless the club sacks me,” Saint-Maximin joked. “I’m ready for the challenge, I’m ready to help the team be successful, and I have the chance, with the experience I have, to know exactly what I have to do on and off the pitch.”
Charlotte returns to Bank of America Stadium with some of the league’s most dangerous attackers. Saint-Maximin joins Pep Biel, who leads the team in goals (9) and assists (7), lead striker Idan Toklomati, and pacy winger Liel Abada as they try to work their way up from the seventh seed in the East.
–Field Level Media
