Four days after shipping three goals at Charlotte and losing 3-1, Columbus Crew return to ScottsMiracle-Gro Field with something to prove. That result dropped them to 11th in the Eastern Conference on 20 points, five points adrift of the playoff cut in a conference where nine spots are up for grabs. CF Montreal arrive in only marginally better shape: 14th on 17 points, their last five league outings have produced one win, two draws and two losses, and a 1-1 draw at home to DC United last time out did little to change the mood. Wednesday night’s match is a direct six-pointer for two clubs that cannot afford to keep dropping points if they want to be playing in October.
What’s at stake
The Eastern Conference sends nine teams to the playoffs, and right now both Columbus and Montreal are on the outside looking in. Columbus sit 11th with 20 points from 19 games, one point behind 10th-place Orlando City SC and four behind ninth-place DC United. Montreal are three points further back in 14th. The gap to the playoff line is real but not insurmountable at this stage of the season, and a win here would move the victor meaningfully closer to the pack above them.
For Columbus, a home win would pull them level with DC United and within striking distance of a top-nine finish. A loss, however, and the gap to safety grows in the wrong direction with other clubs in the conference picking up points around them. For Montreal, a win on the road would be their most significant result in weeks and would narrow the deficit to single figures from the cutoff. A defeat leaves them rooted in the bottom half with an increasingly steep hill to climb.
How they got here
Columbus have gone W-W-D-L-L across their last five competitive games, with the two Leagues Cup wins over Atlas and CF Pachuca sandwiching a draw with Pumas before the loss at Charlotte. Their MLS form reads two draws and a defeat across the last three league outings. Interim coach Laurent Courtois has yet to find a consistent run in the league. Montreal, meanwhile, have not won in five attempts in MLS: D-D-L-L-D, with back-to-back defeats against Nashville SC and Inter Miami around the middle of that sequence. Interim boss Philippe Eullaffroy is trying to build something from a squad that has conceded 36 times in 19 games.
Columbus are 11th in the Eastern Conference on 20 points, five wins from 19 games. Montreal are 14th on 17 points, four wins from 19. Nashville SC lead the East on 43 points, Inter Miami are second on 38, and Chicago Fire third on 32. Both clubs here are a long way from the summit but, with nine spots qualifying, the race is still open in the bottom half of the table.
Key battle to watch
Montreal have the worst defensive record of the two sides, having let in 36 goals in 19 games compared to Columbus’s 31. The Crew’s attacking output, 27 goals this season, will need to show up at home after they were taken apart by Charlotte’s press last Saturday. Columbus’s midfield control, with Dario Gazdag operating in the half-spaces alongside Andre Gomes, will be central to whether they can exploit Montreal’s porous backline or whether the visitors’ compact shape on the road holds firm long enough to steal something.
Key Stats
Match Context
Standings
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Our Prediction
History tilts Columbus’s way: they have won five of the last ten meetings and lost just once. Playing at home after a difficult result tends to produce a reaction, and Montreal’s inability to keep clean sheets this season gives the Crew a reasonable platform to find the net. Expect Columbus to shade it, though Montreal’s stubborn draw-heavy recent form means a tight, low-scoring game is more likely than a comfortable home win.
CF Montreal
Columbus Crew