The Columbus Crew go to Geodis Park on Aug. 22 looking to stop a slide that has left them with two straight losses and plenty of ground to make up in the MLS Eastern Conference. They will face Nashville SC at 8:30 p.m. ET, with the match carrying more weight now because the Crew sit 12th and Nashville are first.
That gap is more than a table line. The Crew enter with a minus-5 goal differential, while Nashville SC bring a 14-4-2 record and a plus-25 goal differential into a matchup that will be shown on Apple TV with a subscription starting at $12.99 per month. Columbus needs a response, and it needs one quickly, because the schedule has delivered a first-place opponent at the same moment the roster is thin.
Saturday's latest setback was a 2-1 loss to CF Montreal, a match that also left Rudy Camacho in trouble. Camacho suffered a foot injury and was on crutches afterward, then picked up a one-game suspension for his fifth yellow card. In league discipline terms, that is automatic: once a player reaches that card threshold, he sits out the next match.
Mo Farsi added another question mark. He was spotted limping after subbing out in the 56th minute against Montreal, but Laurent Courtois said Farsi had a knock on the knee and would be available against Nashville. That matters because it leaves the Crew trying to stabilize both their shape and their health at the same time, with one defender already out and another only recently checked for a knee issue.
For Columbus, the stakes are simple. Win, and the two losses start to look like a stumble. Lose again, and the gap to the top of the Eastern Conference only gets harder to ignore. Nashville will offer little room for recovery when the teams meet in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Crew will have to answer the moment with the players they have left.
