Columbus boss Courtois demands recovery as Crew brace for Charlotte crunch
Courtois proud of Crew's progress but warns recovery is key
The Columbus Crew's interim head coach Laurent Courtois is confident after his side's recent performances, but he has urged them to recover well ahead of a critical run-in.
After wins over CF Montreal and Inter Miami, the Crew fell to a late 3-2 defeat against Orlando City last time out — their first game back after the international break. Columbus equalised twice through Taha Habroune and Brais Mendez but slumped to a loss in Florida.
"We have important games coming out pretty fast," Courtois said. "We recover, we make sure that we are aware of everything that we want to keep, and modify a couple of things, especially against different opponents. We're confident that the group is in a good spot."
He added: "It sucks because coming into that environment [in Orlando] and producing what they've produced and getting out with zero points is really tough. I'm really proud of the way that they performed on and off the ball. In terms of performance, it's in the continuity of what they've done the last few weeks, if not months. Yeah, we look forward to the next game, but first, let's recover."
Playoff gap and U.S. Open Cup final on the horizon
The Crew are now seven points off the playoff places with six regular-season games remaining. They will also face St. Louis City in the U.S. Open Cup final later this month, adding to a congested fixture list that demands careful management of the squad.
Charlotte FC arrive in strong form
Charlotte, meanwhile, are fifth in the Eastern Conference and just three points behind second-place Inter Miami ahead of their trip to Ohio. Dean Smith's side pulled off a remarkable comeback last time out, recovering from a 2-0 deficit to defeat FC Dallas 3-2 at home.
Players to watch
Columbus Crew – Taha Habroune: Habroune scored and assisted against Orlando at the weekend and perhaps deserved to finish on the winning side. Only Orlando's Antoine Griezmann (eight) created more chances than Habroune (six), while the latter also won six of his 11 duels.
Charlotte FC – Idan Toklomati: Only Pep Biel (12) has scored more MLS goals for Charlotte than Toklomati (11) this season, with the latter starring in their turnaround win over Dallas. Toklomati scored two goals, including the 92nd-minute winner, and assisted the other, while he also created four chances (the second-most).
Match prediction
Despite losing against Orlando, Columbus have won three of their last four games across all competitions, after winning just one of their previous eight (L7). However, one of those previous defeats came against Charlotte back in August; Smith's side won 3-1 at home. Charlotte have lost just one of their last five MLS meetings with Columbus (W3 D1), though Columbus are unbeaten (W1 D1) in both home games during that run.
Nevertheless, only Miami (27), Nashville (23) and the Chicago Fire (20) have won more points on the road in the Eastern Conference than Charlotte this year (18).
The Opta win probability favours the hosts: Columbus Crew 41.2%, Draw 26.6%, Charlotte FC 32.2%.