Four days after letting a lead slip in a 3-2 defeat at Orlando City SC, Columbus Crew have little time to feel sorry for themselves: Charlotte arrive at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field on Wednesday sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference with 46 points and a playoff berth already locked in. The Crew, sitting 13th on just 29 points, have a very different set of concerns. Interim coach Laurent Courtois needs a response, and he needs it fast.
What’s at stake
Charlotte have already secured one of the nine Eastern Conference playoff spots, sitting fifth with 46 points from 28 matches, level on points with fourth-place New England Revolution. Dean Smith’s side are close enough to the top three to want a strong finish to the regular season: Nashville SC lead the East on 63 points, Inter Miami are second on 49, and Chicago Fire third on 48. Charlotte are not mathematically in contention for a top-seed push, but positioning in the playoff bracket matters, and dropping points in Columbus would allow rivals behind them to close the gap.
For Columbus, the situation is starker. Sitting 13th on 29 points, they are four points outside the playoff places with DC United (12th, 30 pts) directly above them and a game in hand in the pocket. A win here would not guarantee anything, but a defeat leaves Columbus facing a very real possibility of finishing the regular season on the outside looking in. Charlotte beating the Crew last August 3-1 still stings in Ohio.
How they got here
Columbus’s last five in MLS reads W-W-L with the US Open Cup sandwiched in between: they beat Inter Miami 2-1 at home in late September, won 2-0 at CF Montreal, then lost 0-1 to New York Red Bulls before falling 2-3 at Orlando last Saturday. The Orlando defeat was particularly damaging given Courtois’s side had the chances to take something from that game. Charlotte’s recent form is more consistent: W-L-W-D-W across their last five, with the 3-2 home win over FC Dallas last weekend restoring confidence after a 0-1 home loss to Chicago Fire in late September.
Charlotte sit fifth in the Eastern Conference on 46 points, their 13 wins and 7 draws giving them a goal difference of plus-10 (50 scored, 40 conceded). Columbus, by contrast, are in negative territory at minus-5 (41 for, 46 against), which tells its own story about the defensive fragility that has undermined their season. The Crew have won just 8 of their 28 league matches.
Key battle to watch
Charlotte’s attack, led by Alexandre Saint-Maximin and supported by the creativity of Pep Biel and Liel Abada, will test a Columbus defensive unit that has conceded 46 league goals this season. The Crew’s backline, including Eric Bailly and Malte Amundsen, cannot afford the same kind of late lapses that cost them at Orlando. On the other side, Josef Martinez will need service to trouble Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. If Columbus can keep it tight for the first hour, the crowd at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field might give them the platform to nick something. Charlotte have won four of the last nine meetings between these sides, and the visitors have not looked like a team willing to sit back and protect a lead.
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Our Prediction
Charlotte arrive with more quality, better recent form, and a head-to-head record that favors them in Columbus. Dean Smith’s side have the personnel to exploit the Crew’s defensive vulnerabilities, and with the 3-2 win over Dallas still fresh, the confidence is there. Columbus will be motivated by the reaction factor, but the 17-point gap between these teams in the standings reflects a real difference in squad depth. Expect Charlotte to take something from this game, though a Crew equalizer late would not be a surprise given how open these meetings tend to be.