Toronto FC v Columbus Crew: Herdman embracing hectic fixture schedule

Toronto FC head coach John Herdman is ready to embrace the challenge of a hectic fixture list to finish the MLS season, starting with welcoming Columbus Crew to BMO Field in midweek.

The Reds bounced back from their defeat to D.C. United with a 2-1 win over Austin FC last time out, moving to within two points of the top seven in the Eastern Conference.

Herdman was able to rest a number of his key players, including Lorenzo Insigne, and is confident his players can pick up a first win against their opponents in six matches.

“We’ve got to harden up. We've got to do the recovery. We've got to embrace the challenge,” said Herdman of the quick turnaround.

“It's an exciting opportunity to have Columbus at home. Not many people give you much chance against that team, the quality they have, but we were able to [partially] rest Lorenzo [Insigne] tonight. You could see that first 45, he was hungry and sharp.

“We managed to [leave] some gas [in] his tank ready to play a big match against Columbus. “I'm sure he'll be up for it.”

Columbus, meanwhile, secured their place in the playoffs with a goalless draw with FC Cincinnati, but there was disappointment among Wilfried Nancy’s squad.

The Crew managed just three shots on target from the 12 they attempted, ending the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.32 compared to Cincinnati’s 0.28.

And while they kept a 10th clean sheet, the most in the MLS this season, head coach Nancy reiterated the importance of improvements ahead of their trip to Toronto.

“Obviously, it was the first objective because you know me with the number of wins [13-14], and we achieved it,” Nancy said.

“This is good because we cannot take anything for granted. I'm happy that we clinched the playoffs already.

“Now we're going to be able to go all in and to push a little bit more.

"Obviously, I would say it's normal to make the playoffs because we have to make the playoff in this club.

“Now we cannot take everything for granted because it's been a long season, this is not done, and the players are real competitors. They deserve it.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Toronto FC – Jonathan Osorio

Osorio was in fine form in Toronto's triumph over Austin, notching a goal and as well as an assist for Deandre Kerr's strike to secure the victory. 

His showing took him to 100 regular season goal involvements for Toronto (48 goals and 52 assists), joining Sebastian Giovinco (120) as the only players to reach that milestone for the Reds in the MLS. 

Columbus Crew – Diego Rossi

Having failed to find the back of the net in his last two MLS fixtures, Columbus' joint-top scorer Rossi will be hopeful of returning to form at BMO Field. 

In his previous four fixtures with Toronto, the Uruguayan has notched three goals and three assists while also winning three of his four meetings with the Reds (D1). 

MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN

The Crew come into the encounter having lost one of their previous five away matches (W3 D1), scoring 12 goals in that run. 

Columbus have also got the better of their opponents of late and are unbeaten in their last six MLS matches against the Reds (W5 D1), outscoring Toronto 13-4 during their unbeaten run. 

Toronto, however, are looking for their first league win in fixtures between the two teams since May 2021, but will have to do so on home soil, a ground where they have triumphed only twice in their last seven home matches (L5). 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Toronto FC – 17.8%

Draw – 19.9%

Columbus Crew – 62.3%