Charlotte FC hosts the Columbus Crew on Wednesday in a MLS Eastern Conference fixture. Charlotte is ninth in the conference table at 13-2-17 on 41 points with a goal difference of -6. Charlotte must win each of its final two matches of the regular season to have any chance of reaching the postseason. Charlotte defeated Philadelphia 4-0 at home on Saturday. Daniel Rios scored each of Charlotte's four goals to establish a new single match scoring record for one player.
Charlotte has three consecutive wins, which is the first time in club history. Charlotte's 4-0 victory on Saturday was its largest-ever margin of victory. Karol Swiderski is the leading goal scorer for Charlotte with 10, while Daniel Rios and Andre Shinyashiki each have scored six. Benjamin Bender is the leader in assists six with, Swiderski has five.
Columbus Crew is eighth in the conference table at 10-15-7 on 45 points with a goal difference of +6. Columbus Crew is tied on points with both 6th and 7th place and needs to take points from each of its final two matches to have an opportunity to reach the postseason. Columbus picked up a victory at home last Saturday when defeating the New York Red Bulls 2-1. Derrick Etienne scored a brace for Columbus with an equalizer in the 89th minute and the winner in stoppage time (90'+3').
Saturday's victory was the 10th of the season for Columbus, but the Crew has not won consecutive matches all season and is just one of two clubs in the MLS that does not have a winning streak this season. Lucas Zelarayan and Cucho Hernandez are the leading goal scorers for Columbus with nine each, while Luis Diaz and Zelarayan are the leaders in assists with six each.
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