The Columbus Crew hope the expected return of forward Cucho Hernandez can provide a spark to a suddenly listless offense when they host Inter Miami on Saturday.
Hernandez missed the past six games with a knee injury but after a loss to the New York Red Bulls in the first game in his absence, the Crew (4-3-2, 14 points) ran off three straight wins by a combined 12-1 score.
However, in the past two games -- a tie and a loss -- they have scored only once. That trend continued Wednesday when the Crew edged lower-tier (USL) Indy Eleven 1-0 in a U.S. Open Cup match.
Hernandez, who has two assists this season, played the entire first half of that game as a test run for Miami (2-6-0, 6 points).
"The plan was to see how he reacted during this game," Columbus coach Wilfried Nancy said afterward. "Now, we're going to see what he could do against Miami. He could start, he could also come from the bench, it depends. The plan was to give him 45 minutes and we'll see for the next game."
Hernandez had eight goals in his first eight games after joining the Crew late last season. He has one goal in 12 games since.
Any production from him could be trouble for Miami, which has lost six straight, including the past three by 1-0 scores. No team in MLS history has lost four consecutive games by that score.
Inter Miami are 0-4-0 on the road and will try to avoid joining Montreal (this season) as the only teams in history to lose their first five away matches of the season without scoring.
On a positive note, Miami scored twice against Miami FC (USL) before winning on penalty kicks Wednesday to advance in the Open Cup.
"This team, regardless of the situation, never gives up," Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said. "We're a team on a bad run that has a feeling of a team that feels confident. We need to keep believing in ourselves and thinking this will turn and it does. Football works in mysterious ways."
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