It's the second leg of the Trillium Cup series and the Columbus Crew (2-2-2, 8 pts.) looks to capitalize on its noted home-field advantage before the Club heads into the international break after Saturday's contest vs. Toronto FC at Historic Crew Stadium (3 p.m., Bally Sports Ohio, 97.1 FM The Fan).
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The Crew is 15-1-1 in its last 17 home matches (incl. playoffs) dating back to late last season. The last time the Black & Gold were defeated at home came on October 7, 2020, against CF Montreal.
Now, Toronto FC holds the 2021 Trillium Cup aggregate lead following a 2-0 victory over Columbus on May 12 from Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The victory marked the Reds' third straight win over the Crew.
Just as home-field plays into the Crew's favor, the road has been a tough setting for Toronto, who has collected just one point from their last six away games dating back to October 2020. At 1-3-2 on the season, TFC's five points from six games is the third-worst start in the club’s MLS history (0 points in 2012, 4 points in 2018).
Offensively, the Crew is still searching for its first goal from open play this regular season, but Lucas Zelarayan's free-kick brilliance has given the Club some momentum heading into Saturday following a free-kick brace against New York City FC last weekend, taking his total to three goals (all free kicks) for the season. The last player to score three direct free-kick goals in a season was Laurent Ciman for LAFC in 2018, while the only player with more since 2016 was Sebastian Giovinco (7 in 2017 for Toronto FC).
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET from Historic Crew Stadium, and tickets in both general pod seating, as well as fully vaccinated-only sections, are still available. |TICKETS
*Note: This editorial was provided by MLSsoccer.com and edited by ColumbusCrew.com
