Wilfried Nancy insisted that Columbus Crew’s record MLS win tally achieved in their last game was secondary ahead of their final game before the playoffs.

The Crews’ 4-0 win over New England Revolution before the international break was their 18th of the season, while also setting a new best of 69 goals scored in regular-season play.

Nancy’s side are guaranteed second in the Eastern Conference and will play this weekend’s opponents, New York Red Bulls, in the first round of the playoffs.

The Crew head coach lauded his players for their contribution to the season, saying: “Listen, this is not easy, but this is the challenge. The challenge is, yes, we have few players who played a lot, it's normal, but everybody knows their role, I would say.

“The idea is also to be honest with the players. After that, in terms of results, I don't know, but the performance for me is really important. I'm really happy when I can see any kind of player that I can put in and they bring something. For me, this is the key point.

“[Saturday], this is not about New England, this is not about the opposition - this is about the fans. This is about the people who try to fight to keep the club. I'm really pleased for that.”

NYRB, meanwhile, come into the encounter on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Atlanta United, but have already guaranteed their spot in the postseason.

Despite the loss, head coach Sandro Schwarz was pleased with his side’s display, but acknowledged they must be more clinical in the final third.

"We had the penalty situation then, and we scored two times," Schwarz said. "But for me, the behaviour after that was good, the behaviour that we are fighting together, that we have the energy, but we need this energy at the beginning, directly in the game."

And Red Bulls defender Sean Nealis is relishing the opportunity of facing Columbus, believing a win will give the group positive momentum moving forward.

"That's what you want as a player, as a competitor, you want to go up against the best," Nealis said. "And they're defending champs. They had a great year last year. They had some great games this year, earlier in the year, they beat us, so we want to kind of avenge that.

“And I think if we end up playing them, we're looking forward to that. They're a great team but we're confident in ourselves, and we'll be ready for the challenge when the time comes."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

NYRB – Lewis Morgan

Morgan enters the final match of the season with 18 goal contributions in 2024 (13 goals, five assists).

No Red Bulls player has tallied 20 goal contributions in a single regular season since Bradley Wright-Phillips (28) and Kaku (20) did so in 2018.

Columbus Crew – Alexandru Matan

Matan scored his first hat-trick with Columbus on Saturday, the second Crew player with a hat-trick this season after Cucho Hernandez.

This is the second time in team history that two Crew players have scored a hat-trick in a single season (Edson Buddle and Ross Paule in 2004).

MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN

While the Crew are favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations, The Red Bulls have lost only four of their last 27 home matches against Columbus in all competitions (W17 D6) dating back to September 2003.

NYRB have scored at least once in 26 of those 27 matches, including in 21 straight, last failing to score at home against the Crew in 2006, while they have also lost only eight times all season, with only four teams having fewer defeats in 2024.

However, Schwarz’s side face a tough task stopping the Crew. Columbus’ win over New England on Saturday was the team’s seventh game with at least four goals this season. Only three teams in MLS history have scored at least four goals in more matches in a single season.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

NYRB – 26.3%

Draw – 23.6%

Columbus Crew – 50.1%

New York Red Bulls captain Sean Nealis has vowed the team will learn from last week's defeat to the New England Revolution, when they were hamstrung by several absences.

The Red Bulls were beaten 1-0 in Foxborough following a run of four wins in five matches, with Lewis Morgan and Emil Forsberg among the big names missing due to international duty.

The result left them fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, six points adrift of Supporters' Shield frontrunners Inter Miami.

"We separated ourselves from the bottom half of the group and now we're kind of just lying there in the middle," centre-back Nealis said as he reflected on New York's last result.

"We'll learn from this. We'll get better from it. This is a young group out there. 

"A lot got their first minutes of the season and I think we'll all learn how to get better and how to understand these environments and then get over the hump."

Nashville, meanwhile, sit ninth in the East, 10 points adrift of the Red Bulls. 

They have taken four points from four games (one win, two draws, one defeat) since Rumba Munthali took over as interim head coach following the firing of Gary Smith.

They were also beaten by the Revs on their last MLS outing before the international break, and Munthali believes keeping players fresh will be key if they are to improve.   

"It's a quick turnaround, and we have a lot of confidence in the group," Munthali said. 

"We try to balance that, and we want to make sure guys are available for the whole season, not just game to game.

"It's about managing and making sure we're not straining guys and breaking them."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York Red Bulls – Elias Manoel

Having seen the likes of Morgan and Forsberg go on international duty, the Red Bulls could be left to rely on Manoel.

He has three goals and three assists in MLS play this term, despite only making eight starts. Only Morgan (nine) and Forsberg (six) have outscored him for New York.

Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar 

Mukhtar scored Nashville's only goal in their defeat to New England on June 1 from the penalty spot. 

He has been directly involved in each of Nashville's last four MLS goals (two goals, two assists, with the last Nashville goal without a Mukhtar involvement coming on May 15.

MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN

Nashville ended a seven-game run without an away victory by beating FC Cincinnati 2-0 on May 29, just their second win in their last 16 away league matches. 

However, they may struggle on Saturday against a team unbeaten in 10 straight home games (seven wins, three draws), dating back to last year's playoffs.

The Red Bulls are also unbeaten in their last five meetings with Nashville, winning two and drawing three while only conceding once in that sequence. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New York Red Bulls – 52%

Nashville SC – 23.5%

Draw – 24.5%