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Fresh off the back of a 2-1 defeat against CF Montreal, New York City FC travel to Lower.com Field Stadium on Saturday to face Columbus Crew.
Meanwhile, the hosts played out a 2-2 draw against FC Cincinnati last time out and will head into Saturday's game aiming to end their dry spell in the MLS.
Columbus Crew’s struggles in the MLS continued last Wednesday when they played out a 2-2 draw away to 11th-placed Cincinnati.
In a game where Harrison Afful received his marching orders, Crew had to fight back from two goals down to force a share of the spoils at the TQL Stadium.
It was a third straight draw for Caleb Porter's men, who have now failed to taste victory in their last four outings
With 17 points from eight games, Columbus Crew are currently eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, level on points with Saturday’s visitors.
New York City, on the other hand, failed in their bid to pick up a third straight win as they were beaten 2-1 by CF Montreal last Thursday.
Ronny Deila's side squandered a one-goal lead as Mason Toye and Romell Quioto were on target to turn the game around for Montreal.
While New York City have performed decently, they have been largely inconsistent. They have picked up three wins from their last six matches, while falling to defeat in the other three games.
However, they New York City have a game in hand over most of their rivals and will feel confident of rising up the table in the coming weeks.
Columbus Crew vs New York City FC Head-To-Head
Columbus Crew are the slightly better side in the history of this fixture, claiming seven wins from their previous 17 games against New York City FC.
The visitors have picked up one less victory, while four games have ended all square.
Columbus Crew Form Guide: W-L-D-D-D
New York City FC Form Guide: W-L-W-W-L
Columbus Crew vs New York City FC Team News
Columbus Crew
The hosts will have to rely on a few fringe players as several first-team members are currently unavailable. Five senior players are away on international duty.
Artur, Josh Williams, Aidan Morris and Bradley Wright-Phillips are injured and will not be able to feature against FC Cincinnati. Harrison Afful is currently suspended and will also miss the game.
Injured: Artur, Josh Williams, Aidan Morris and Bradley Wright-Phillips
Unavailable: Liam Fraser, Kevin Molino, Gyasi Zardes, Derrick Etienne, Eloy Room
New York City
New York City FC remain without Heber and Gedion Zelalem due to injuries, while Alexander Callens is on international duty with Peru.
Injured: Heber, Gedion Zelalem
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Alexander Callens
Columbus Crew vs New York City FC Predicted XI
Columbus Crew Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Evan Bush; Waylon Francis, Jonathan Mensah, Vito Wormgoor, Harrison Afful; Perry Kitchen, Darlington Nagbe; Alexandru Matan, Luis Diaz, Pedro Santos; Lucas Zelarayan
New York City FC Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Sean Johnson; Gudmundur Thorarinsson, Maxime Chanot, James Sands, Anton Tinnerholm; Nicolas Acevedo, Keaton Parks; Maximiliano Moralez, Jesus Medina, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi; Valentin Castellanos
Columbus Crew vs New York City FC Prediction
Despite failing to end their winless run last time out, Columbus Crew can take some positives from their solid display and impressive fighting spirit.
However, they head into the game with a depleted squad and we predict the visitors will claim all three points.
Prediction: Columbus Crew 0-2 New York City FC
