Short-handed NYCFC, Crew battle in Eastern showdown

New York City FC will be without star player Alonso Martinez due to a call-up to the Costa Rican national team but don't expect any sympathy when they play at the Columbus Crew on Saturday.

While Martinez has scored three of the six goals for NYCFC (2-1-1, 7 points), the Crew (2-0-2, 8 points) will be without several of their regulars due to international duties, injuries and a suspension.

Patrick Schulte, the goalkeeper at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and midfielder Max Arfsten are on the U.S. team for the CONCACAF Nations League in Los Angeles while defender Mo Farsi is with Algeria.

Furthermore, defender Malte Amundsen is out due to his red-card suspension against San Diego FC last match, and starting defenders Rudy Camacho and Steven Moreira are out with injuries. It is apparent Crew coach Wilfried Nancy must juggle the lineup, although he is not concerned.

"I'm going to prepare for the game like I do any game with our players to play New York City," he said. "For me, this is not a debate."

Nancy could have avoided the situation by opting to play matches in an international window later in the season rather than this one.

"Last year was the same," he said. "We decided to play during this window and not the next window because we believe it is better to do it now. At the end of the year, we're going to get to 35 or 40 games, and I knew the September window was a good time to rest."

NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen also has a dilemma but hopes to overcome the absence of Martinez by taking a longer look at 24-year-old Algerian midfielder Mounsef Bakrar, who has played 87 minutes in four matches (one start) this season.

"It's not an easy battle competing with Alonso, so this is his opportunity to show where he's at," Jansen said. "We have all the confidence in him to be a good striker up front. His profile is just a little bit different from Alonso's, but playing-wise, we won't adjust anything. It's just about making sure we understand his qualities in order to be successful."

--Field Level Media