Your Loons are back on the road this weekend, headed to the Arch City (which, apparently, is not St. Louis) for a cross-conference matchup. Amid a busy stretch of double-game weeks, it’s all about depth, rotation, and making the most of what you have. And what do your Loons have? Plenty of energy, the desire to put up a three-point result after a pair of losses to two of the league’s best sides, and the manpower to put in a strong performance in Columbus this weekend.

Run of Form

Minnesota United FC
Run of Form: L-L-W-W-W (All Competitions)

After a six-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, the Black and Blue fell to LAFC and San Jose, but not without putting up a good fight. Both losses were tight contests against two of the league’s best, in which the Loons controlled long stretches of the match but suffered from a few momentary lapses. Despite elimination from the U.S. Open Cup, their recent run of form is still more positive than not. If the Loons can find a win on Saturday, they’ll be able to put these losses behind them as a minor blip against a pair of tough opponents.

Columbus Crew
Run of Form: W-W-L-W-D (All Competitions)

The Crew started out the season rough, not getting a win into the books until an April matchup against Atlanta United. Though they’re now on a two-game winning streak, they have yet to succeed against an opponent with a record as strong as Minnesota’s. It’s too early to tell whether their winning streak will stick or is simply the result of playing a handful of struggling squads. Columbus is also now down a star striker, as DP Wessam Abou Ali has been placed on the season-ending injury list for a torn ACL, so it’s looking like an uphill battle for these Ohioans.

Keys to the Match:

One Eye on Open Cup

Schedule congestion is always a consideration this time of year for squads participating in the U.S. Open Cup, and while Minnesota is now out of the running, they did put their favored starting lineup forward in last night’s Round of 16 game. The coaching staff may need to keep an eye on the workload for high-impact attackers like Joaquín Pereyra and Tomás Chancalay or midfielders like Owen Gene who played a full 90 on Tuesday, but with four days to recover, Knowles’ best XI could easily be rested and ready to go by this weekend. Squad rotation or not, Minnesota’s roster is so competitive in the midfield it’s practically bursting, and any combination of players going up against this Ohio squad will be daunting.

The Crew have put forward very similar starting lineups in their last two matches, and while I’d expect them to be prioritizing Open Cup (who doesn’t love a trophy?), their midweek opponent is a team from USL League One. Not that the underdogs should be underestimated — they’ve made it this far — but Columbus probably has some wiggle room in terms of starting talent if they want to save some heavy hitters like Diego Rossi and Max Arfsten for Saturday’s game.

Playing Keepaway

Columbus is currently third in the league in completed passes at a whopping 4,976. Given the Crew’s DNA, it’s not surprising that they’re one of the higher-possession sides on the table, sixth overall with 54.8%. That kind of ball-hogging would be a dream for last year’s Loons, who thrived in low-possession scenarios, but in their most recent matchup Minnesota actually retained 58.4% possession against LAFC to create over 600 successful passes and 23 shots. The Loons have been adapting well to a more on-the-ball approach under Knowles, so against a team like Columbus, the question is whether they push to keep the ball or return to their off-the-ball origins. They’re more than capable of both, but one approach sacrifices a bit of extra defensive security while the other has chance creation on a decline. Given the absence of Abou Ali, it may be worth having Minnesota’s central midfielders push a bit more for the ball and letting the reliable center back trio hold down the fort.

The Goal Stat

Though Minnesota has been both growing into and expanding their attacking options, they’re the lowest-scoring team in the upper half of the table with just 11 goals in 10 games. It’s the biggest thing separating the Loons from powerhouses like San Jose and Vancouver, who each have 25 goals scored at the time of writing. In recent run of form, Minnesota has been pulling off wins with minimal goal-scoring, choosing their moments to put timely, efficient balls in the back of the net. Whether James Rodríguez is paying dividends in ball service, the trio of Yeboah-Pereyra-Chancalay trio is getting creative up front, or the wingbacks are pushing forward to engineer opportunities of their own, there’s no shortage of opportunity in the Loons’ offense. It’s been enough to get three points on several occasions, but not enough to undo the damage to the squad’s goal differential sustained in Vancouver earlier this year. That type of low-scoring-but-still-winning play has led the Loons to largely successful results so far, but the composure to convert a lot more consistently in the final third is the piece of the puzzle that could take this squad from good to great.

See the Black and Blue take on the Crew (that rhymed!) this Saturday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m. CT on Apple TV.