Two things to watch for when the Columbus Crew play the New York Red Bulls

Wilfried Nancy may be one of the only coaches in MLS who genuinely looks forward to playing the New York Red Bulls.

Matching up with the Red Bulls can be a nightmare for their opponents, who have to deal with New York's constant pressure and relentless intensity — not to mention the quick, direct counter-attacks.

The Red Bull way is, philosophically, almost the exact opposite from how Nancy wants the Crew to play. The Red Bulls have no desire to possess the ball, and for Nancy, possession is the root of everything. Nancy's teams do press — nearly every modern soccer team presses, to varying degrees — but their focus is on winning the ball back to reset their own possession, not pressuring the other team into giving up transition opportunities amid chaos.

The philosophical conflict is exactly why Nancy appreciates the chance to play the Red Bulls. If Nancy were to design a test for the Crew's commitment to Nancy's principles, it would look a lot like what they'll face on Saturday.

"I like to play against them because it’s a really good game," Nancy said. "It’s an intense game. I can see where were are in terms of if we are going to take the challenge or not."

Kickoff Saturday is set for 7:30 p.m., and here's what to watch for in the matchup.

How do the Columbus Crew handle the New York Red Bulls' high press?

The Red Bulls' high press means that Nancy's players will have to have patience with the ball and not play into New York's hands by making frantic, hurried passes.

"The challenge that I give my team all the time when we play against New York Red Bulls is they have to be composed with the ball," Nancy said. "I like to say that. I will repeat that a lot. It’s key. It’s key. If we rush the play, this is what they want. They want to create a chaotic environment, a chaotic game, a ping-pong game, a transition game.

"The idea is to slow down the play, and to speed up the play when this is the good moment, but this is not easy to do it against them. They put a lot of pressure. For me, I like to play against them because this is a good exercise to see if my players are able to be brave on the ball."

As the Crew try to build from the back, their center backs will be the first players under pressure — and the players who need to have the most patience, to avoid turning the ball over in a very dangerous area.

"You need to be composed with the ball," defender Steven Moreira said. "They can press and we need to play more confident with the ball. For sure, sometimes we can lose the ball, but we need to go again, again, again. Be patient with the ball."

The Crew have been bothered by pressure in their build-out at times this year, so Saturday's game will test the patience that Nancy has tried to install.

"It’s difficult mentally," Nancy said. "Especially the way we want to play, you have to get a good emotional control. In terms of mental aspect, this is not easy to do. (The Red Bulls) press a lot, but the more they press, the more I ask my players to be calm on the ball."

Are the Crew able to have more of a presence inside the box?

The Crew's front three — striker Cucho Hernandez and attacking midfielders Lucas Zelarayan and Alex Matan — have a lot of freedom in Nancy's attack, but through the first three games, that positional freedom has often resulted in them not quite knowing where to find each other in and around the 18-yard box for scoring chances.

The offense will evolve naturally throughout the season, as they each settle into Nancy's structure and learn to predict the others' movements, but Nancy was clear that improvement around the box is needed.

"We are getting better in terms of recognizing to attract the opposition and recognizing to get in behind," Nancy said. "To attack the box, it’s getting better. Now, we have to be better to occupy the box. We had a few opportunities against Toronto where we didn’t have the good shape inside the box. This is something that we need to be better."

Hernandez assisted Zelarayan on one of Zelarayan's two goals against D.C. United on March 4, but that's the only time this season he has statistically contributed to one of the Crew's goals. He hasn't scored since last September, a drought of six games, and has one goal in his last 11 MLS games. Hernandez set a high bar for the number of times he wants to score this season, and the Crew having a better presence inside the box will help him start putting the ball into the net.

Columbus Crew lineup

Record: 1-1-1, 9th in East

Projected Starting XI (3-4-2-1):

Eloy Room (goalkeeper); Philip Quinton (left center back), Miloš Degenek (center back), Steven Moreira (right center back); Yaw Yeboah (left wingback), Darlington Nagbe (central midfielder), Aidan Morris (central midfielder), Mo Farsi (right wingback); Lucas Zelarayan (attacking midfielder), Alex Matan (attacking midfielder); Cucho Hernandez (striker).

Injured: Kevin Molino (knee, questionable); Christian Ramirez (foot, questionable); Will Sands (back, questionable); Josh Williams (ankle, out)

New York Red Bulls lineup

Record: 0-1-2, 12th in East

Previous Starting XI (4-2-3-1):

Carlos Coronel (goalkeeper); John Tolkin (left back), Andres Reyes (center back), Sean Nealis (center back), Kyle Duncan (right back); Daniel Edelman (central midfielder), Frankie Amaya (central midfielder); Luquinhas (left winger), Lewis Morgan (attacking midfielder), Cristian Casseres (right winger); Cory Burke (forward).

Columbus Crew at New York Red Bulls prediction

Red Bulls 2, Columbus 1: The Red Bulls have struggled to score this year, with only one goal in the first three games, and they've recorded just eight shots on target. They'll likely have more opportunities against the Crew, as their press unsettles the Crew's intention of playing with the ball. The Crew aren't yet comfortable enough in Nancy's system to play through New York's press for a full game, which limits their own ability to score.

bjohnson@dispatch.com

@BaileyAJohnson_

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew at New York Red Bulls: Game preview, starting lineups