Pre-match Preview: CITY SC to host unbeaten Columbus side

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - St. Louis CITY SC will face the Eastern Conference-leading Columbus Crew on Sunday for the first time this season.

St. Louis will look to turn things around after suffering its third straight loss this past weekend. But, to do so, it’ll have to face a red-hot Columbus side that has not lost in regular season play thus far.

Derby Depression

St. Louis CITY SC suffered possibly its most upsetting loss in a long time last Saturday. In the first I-70 Derby match-up of 2025, CITY SC was defeated 2-0 by Sporting KC.

Prior to Saturday, KC had not won a match since September of 2024 and was last in MLS in total points.

The first half saw multiple attempts for CITY SC to score, particularly between 20 and 45 minutes, which contained nearly half of St. Louis’s total attempts.

Both sides finished with 11 total shots and took turns in controlling possession throughout the game. The blow came at minute 71, as Sporting striker Dejan Joveljić was given a carving ball through the St. Louis backline to slot it in the bottom corner for a 1-0 advantage.

St. Louis’s efforts to equalize, including two corners and a shot by Tomás Ostrák, came up short. As the final minutes dwindled, Joveljić put the nail in the coffin with a second goal following a rebound off the post in minute 88.

It has now been roughly three weeks since CITY SC last scored a goal. In its last three losses, it has averaged 1.33 goals against - a very respectable number. However, in a sport like soccer, the best defense does not always equal a good offense.

“Obviously, scoring goals is one of the most difficult moments in soccer, so it’s something we are working hard on and improving,” Coach Olof Mellberg said after the match. “Hopefully, it will come.”

“Hopefully” is right.

Although CITY will enjoy its next two matches with a home-field advantage, each one will come against the leader of an MLS conference.

A Tough Road Ahead

This Sunday, St. Louis will host Columbus Crew for its first meeting of the 2025 season.

The Crew are the top team in the Eastern Conference. Through the first seven matches of the year, they are one of only two undefeated teams in MLS, along with Inter Miami CF.

Columbus is third in the league in points per game (2.14) and posts the fourth-best non-penalty xG allowed figure of all clubs. It makes sense, considering they are also top five in goals scored against (5). Despite losing star forward Cucho Hernández, Diego Rossi has proven to be a fair replacement. His four goals put him in line with multiple other players as the third-most in MLS.

Other notable scorers include forward Jacen Russell-Rowe and former St. Louis midfielder Aziel Jackson. Both scored in the Crew’s victory last week over CF Montréal.

St. Louis has now dropped to 11th in the Western Conference following its last loss. Only one club (Austin FC) has given up fewer goals than CITY. But this achievement may soon become a distant memory, as all four of St. Louis’s conceded goals have been scored in its last three matches.

Center-back Henry Kessler is still proving to be a valuable defensive anchor, ranking in the top five of MLS players in clearances. In addition, Conrad Wallem has continued to show strength as a wingback, making an impact on both sides of the pitch.

One key for this defense, which is somewhat of a risk, could be to start far more defensive and gradually push more in the attacking half as the game moves on. That’s because Columbus scores most of its goals in the first half, so holding this club to a 0-0 draw in the first 45 might be helpful. Of course, this theory is not proven, given the Crew has not yet lost this year. But two of its three draws were scoreless. And for St. Louis, a draw against this side is about as good as they can hope to get.

Injuries:

• After making a long-awaited return from injury a short while ago, center-back Joakim Nilsson went down last weekend in the first half of the match. Coach Mellberg said on Tuesday that Nilsson’s injury does not seem serious. Although, the Swedish defender was not seen in training.
• Roman Bürki is still sidelined with a hand injury.
• Jannes Horn’s status is unknown but he was seen running during training Tuesday. Horn is dealing with a thigh injury.
• Jayden Reid, who is still recovering from foot surgery, was also seen running at training.
• Tomas Totland is still out with a hamstring injury. He was, however, involved in some drills on Tuesday.
• Rasmus Alm was seen doing solo drills in training but his status is still unknown.
• Chris Durkin, who is dealing with a knee injury, was not seen at training.
• Eduard Löwen, who has not played in a match since receiving a red card on March 22, was also not seen at training.

Bottom Line:

The remaining weeks of April will not be kind. After facing the top club in the East this week, St. Louis will host the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps FC, followed by the always-formidable LAFC, to close out the month. We have now reached the point of the season when teams become cleaner and more dangerous in possession, making it a lot harder to defend “well.” Olof Mellberg is entering a huge testing period now. He will have to branch outside of his strategy of just pulling numbers behind the ball. Part of being good defensively is using your defensive shape to provide opportunities to transition into an attacking phase. One that is organized and able to capitalize on opportunities. If St. Louis can find a way to create that transition, it could be enough to take some points from these difficult April assignments.

Kick-off is set for Sunday, April 13, at 6 p.m. at Energizer Park.

For more on St. Louis CITY SC, click here.

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