**Columbus hosting Red Bulls in a duel where neither side's firing on all cylinders** — both teams have dropped points lately and need this W badly. 🔥

Columbus has won just once in five but showed life with that 3-0 demolition of Colorado; Red Bulls are stuck in a rut with zero wins in their last five and look fragile defensively. The Crew hold the head-to-head edge (21 wins to 18) and play at home, where they can lean on that recent form blip more forgivingly than NYRB can on the road.

Key storylines:

- **Columbus's attacking thrust** hinges on **G. Tapia** and **J. Martínez** linking up — they need consistency after that shocker vs New England
- **Red Bulls' makeshift midfield** without **R. Donkor** has to shore up a defense that's conceded badly; **E. Forsberg** carries the creative load
- **Home-field advantage matters** when both sides are fragile; Crew's Lower.com Field leans toward the hosts in a coin flip

Expected lineups:

- **Columbus Crew**: P. Schulte, S. Zawadzki, M. Amundsen, S. Moreira, C. Ruvalcaba, T. Habroune, M. Farsi, A. Gomes, D. Chambost, J. Martínez, G. Tapia
- **New York Red Bulls**: E. Horvath, M. D. Santos, J. Che, J. Bazán, D. Nealis, A. Mehmeti, E. Forsberg, J. Ruvalcaba, A. Rojas, J. Hall, C. Cowell

Prediction:

**Columbus 2–1 New York Red Bulls** — Crew edge this as the steadier side at home.