Preview:Columbus Crew vs FC Cincinnati - prediction, team news, lineups

The Hell is Real Derby moves over to Lower.com Field on Sunday as the Columbus Crew look to stave off elimination in game two of their best-of-three MLS playoff series with FC Cincinnati.

A goal in the latter stages of Monday’s meeting between the two has the Crew on the brink of elimination for a second successive year in round one.

Match preview

The Columbus Crew currently find themselves in the same position as they were in 2024, needing a win on Sunday to prolong their season for a few more days.

Their form of late does not suggest they will stay alive on Sunday, with this team winning just two of their previous 11 matches played against MLS teams.

At the same time, they have picked up at least a point in two consecutive league outings at Lower.com Field, winning their final home match of the regular season 3-1 against the New York Red Bulls.

Wilfried Nancy’s men have been short on creativity for a while now, but have stood tall defensively, conceding a goal or fewer in their last three league games.

The 2023 MLS Cup champions have gone on to lose their previous three post-season encounters, failing to find the back of the net on two of those occasions.

Lower.com Field has been good to them against their state rivals, with Columbus earning points in four of those five all-time meetings versus Cincy, three of which were wins.

In typical FC Cincinnati fashion, we did not see many chances created by them in game one, but they did enough to get by and claim a narrow victory.

As a result, they can redeem themselves from last year, when they squandered a 1-0 series lead against New York City FC, losing that decisive third game on penalties and exiting the playoffs in round one.

Pat Noonan’s side are riding a six-match unbeaten run in league play heading into this encounter, failing to concede in those previous three such outings.

While they had an Eastern Conference-leading 11 away wins during the 2025 regular season, Cincy have never won a playoff game away from home in normal time.

During the 2025 regular season, they won 16 fixtures by just a single goal, with all but one of their away wins in MLS this year being by that thin margin.

Cincinnati are unbeaten in their last two visits to Lower.com Field, with their only triumph against the Crew at that venue coming during the 2024 campaign (2-1).

Columbus Crew Major League Soccer Playoff form:

Columbus Crew form (all competitions):

FC Cincinnati Major League Soccer Playoff form:

FC Cincinnati form (all competitions):

Team News

A pelvic issue will keep Mohamed Farsi on the Columbus sidelines for game two, and Wessam Abou Ali will not feature as he recovers from an ankle problem.

Sunday could be the last time we see Darlington Nagbe in a Crew shirt, with the club captain and three-time MLS Cup champion previously announcing that he will retire at the conclusion of this season.

Leg injuries could keep numerous Cincinnati players out of the lineup this weekend as Lukas Engel, Brad Smith, Matt Miazga and Ayoub Jabbari are all dealing with that issue.

Kevin Denkey had the only goal in game one, his 18th across all competition this year, and first in the playoffs, while Roman Celenatano made four saves for his fifth career playoff clean sheet.

Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:

Schulte; Herrera, Moreira, Camacho, Arfsten; Zawadzki, Nagbe, Chambost; Russell-Rowe, Rossi, Lappalainen

FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:

Celentano; Hadebe, Robinson, Hagglund; Powell, Bucha, Evander, Anunga, Kubo; Denkey, Brenner

We say: Columbus Crew 1-0 FC Cincinnati

The Crew will want to give their beloved captain one more game after this one, and we believe that motivating factor will enable them to find an extra gear in game two.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.