The Columbus Crew have a chance to distance themselves and the teams chasing them in the playoff race when they host CF Montreal on Wednesday at Lower.com Field.
Columbus come into this encounter unbeaten in their previous four MLS home fixtures, sitting in sixth in the Eastern Conference, with six fewer points than Montreal, who drew New York City FC 0-0 in their last encounter.
Match preview
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Caleb Porter and his side have undergone a significant transformation over the past couple of months, as their regular season has taken an unexpected turn for the better.
Since the end of May, the Crew have points in nine consecutive domestic encounters, vaulting them into a playoff position in the Eastern Conference for the time being.
Their discipline and ability to remain organised at the back has played a big part in their recent success, as Columbus have allowed the third-fewest goals (22) in their Conference and have not conceded in three straight home fixtures.
They have needed to be sharp defensively, as their creativity has been lacking through much of the campaign, putting up 0.2 expected goals on seven shots on target versus the New England Revolution.
When drawing first blood, they are a tough team to break down, earning points in eight matches this year in which they have scored first.
Lately, the Crew have fared well when facing opponents from Canada, going unbeaten in their last five matches against their neighbours to the North, including a perfect 100% record so far this year, with a pair of 2-1 victories over Toronto and a 4-0 triumph versus the Vancouver Whitecaps in their regular-season opener.
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Despite failing to find the back of the net for the first time in four games, Wilfried Nancy said that he felt encouraged by how his side performed in a 0-0 draw at home to the defending MLS Cup champions.
Indeed, his team were as sharp and resolute defensively as we had seen perhaps all year, failing to allow a single effort on target against the highest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference, as they have now allowed a goal or fewer in three consecutive encounters.
Emotions were high following the news last week that assistant coach Jason Di Tullio had lost his battle with cancer, with Nancy calling his team brave and well-organised in the face of that tragedy when they faced NYCFC.
They controlled a good portion of that match against the Pigeons, with 59% of the possession, but only managed to register one shot on target.
Montreal have won two of their last three road games, though they have often been caught out of position on the back end this year, as 22 of their 36 goals conceded have come away from home.
This team have been fairly flexible, with players rotating into various positions, and they have been a difficult team to contend with all season in transition.
They have been primarily passive on the road, sustaining too much pressure for Nancy's liking, winning only one of their last seven visits to Columbus.
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Team News
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Eloy Room has only had to face four shots in his previous two matches for the Crew, and he had to make one save this past weekend at Charlotte FC before the match was suspended due to poor weather.
Pedro Santos has played a big part in their recent success as he sits third in the league in terms of tackles won (42), while Derrick Etienne and Lucas Zelarayan are tied for the team lead in goals and assists with five each, while Cucho Hernandez has chipped in with four strikes.
Artur will be a question mark for this encounter because of a lower leg injury, while Porter made one change to his lineup in their match versus Charlotte, as Steven Moreira took the place of Marlon Hairston along the backline.
Rudy Camacho played in his 100th career match for Montreal this past weekend, with James Pantemis getting the start in goal, replacing Sebastian Breza for a third successive encounter, collecting his second clean sheet over that span.
Montreal have got some outstanding individual performances in two of their last three road games enabling to collect some valuable points.
Mason Toye notched a brace in their 2-1 comeback win against the Seattle Sounders, while Romell Quioto had two in a 2-1 victory over DC United as he leads them in that department with nine, two more than Djordje Mihailovic.
Joel Waterman will not be available for this one because of a yellow card suspension, while Ahmed Hamdy is still out with a right leg issue and Tomas Giraldo has a hamstring injury.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Room; Santos, Williams, Jonathan, Hairston; Morris, Nagbe; Etienne, Zelarayan, Igbekeme; Hernandez
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Pantemis; Brault-Guillard, Camacho, Miller; Wanyama; Johnston, Lappalainen, Piette, Mihailovic, Toye, Quioto
We say: Columbus Crew 3-1 CF Montreal
As sound as they looked on the back end in their previous match, one solid outing is not enough to prove that Montreal have solved its defensive issues.
They have been inferior in that department away from home, allowing three or more goals in five road matches in all competitions this year.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
