The Columbus Crew are rested are ready to build on their CONCACAF Champions Cup success as in-state rival FC Cincinnati visit Saturday.
The Crew (3-1-6, 15 points) are riding high after their 3-1 win in the second leg of the Champions Cup at Mexican powerhouse CF Monterrey on May 1 to advance to the June 1 final at CF Pachuca.
Now comes time to work on replicating that success in MLS play. The Crew have a loss and then five consecutive ties in the MLS since their last win on March 16.
Cincinnati (6-2-3, 21 points) has won three in a row and is bent on avenging a 3-2 loss to the Crew in the Eastern Conference final in December. The Crew went on to win MLS Cup 2-1 over Los Angeles FC.
Columbus has not played since the Monterrey match.
"Is it possible to push the boundaries a little bit more again? Because emotionally, it was not easy against Monterrey," Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. "We know that we have to be good against Cincinnati."
This season's first edition of the Hell Is Real Derby has added spice after the Crew rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 15 minutes of the playoff match in Cincinnati to stun the Supporters' Shield winners with a stoppage-time go-ahead goal by Christian Ramirez.
"Last year's last year," Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. "That team that beat us last year will look a little bit different. There's certainly a lot of pieces. We have a lot of new faces.
"We haven't talked about previous games or setbacks or performances. It's what can we do to be successful on Saturday."
The Crew are 3-1-2 in the past six regular-season matches vs. Cincinnati, which hopes to change that trend with Luciano Acosta leading the way.
The reigning MLS MVP has five goals and five assists among the 13 goals scored by Cincinnati, including four game-winners and one game-winning assist.
Expect the match to be fiery.
"To be able to come back and beat them in a final in their home, they're going to remember that, and they're going to come out flying," Crew forward Jacen Russell-Rowe said. "We have to set the tempo because we're playing in our home."
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