Mo Farsi sung the praises of Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy after another fine start to their MLS campaign. 

Farsi arrived in Columbus in 2022 from Cavalry FC and has made 93 appearances for the Crew across all competitions, scoring five goals and registering 13 assists. 

He was an integral part of the team that lifted the MLS Cup in 2023 as well as the Leagues Cup last season, with Columbus kicking on already this season. 

They sit third in the Eastern Conference standings, one point behind leaders Inter Miami, and face CF Montreal this weekend, who are yet to pick up a victory. 

Farsi's performances have seen him become a mainstay in the team, but the 25-year-old midfielder said that his form with the Crew was simply down to Nancy's management. 

"I have been honoured to be a part of his team since 2023, when he arrived," he said. "He is a great tactician. We can all see how we play.

"Of course, teams try to adapt to us, but he always seems to have an answer. I have learned a lot [under Nancy]. I love to play in a back-three.

"He gave me some freedom on my side, and helped me reach another level, to be a better player, so I am very happy and look forward to continuing to work with him."

Montreal, meanwhile, picked up just their second point of the season after drawing 1-1 with fellow strugglers in their last MLS encounter. 

It was the first game that Montreal had played since the sacking of Laurent Courtois, with the 46-year-old dismissed after overseeing their worst start to a season since 2012. 

Interim head coach Marco Donadel was pleased with their performance against the Fire last time out, and is looking to continue to implement his style moving forward. 

"We are happy. It's a very good performance. We are satisfied with the performance, but we are not satisfied with the result," Donadel said.

"I immediately saw in the guys' eyes that they were, of course, happy and relieved. But at the same time, they weren't really happy and that's a very good thing in my opinion.

"We want to play with the ball and we are not satisfied when the opponent tries to play.

"It's something they showed and I'm very happy because tonight I asked them that, and only that, and they did it."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Columbus Crew – Diego Rossi

Rossi scored his second brace of the season in the Crew's win over D.C. United on Saturday.

The Uruguayan, along with Tani Oluwaseyi and Tai Baribo, is one of three players with more than one multi-goal game this season.

CF Montreal – Price Owusu

Montreal have scored just three goals this season, the joint-lowest in the Eastern Conference (level with the New England Revolution), but have had seven different players who have recorded a goal contribution. 

Owusu (one goal, one assist) is the only player to be involved in more than one, and he will be key if Montreal are to upset the Crew this weekend. 

MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN

The Crew are unbeaten in five straight matches against Montreal (W3 D2), equalling the longest run by either team against the other in the 31 all-time meetings between the sides.

Columbus are also unbeaten through six matches of a season for the third time in club history after doing so in 2010 and 2020. The only campaign they went longer before their first regular-season loss was 2010 (eight games).

Montreal, meanwhile, have just two points through six matches of a season for the first time in club history. They are one of five teams with two or fewer points this season, the most teams with fewer than three points after six matches of a season in MLS history.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Columbus Crew – 69.9%

Draw – 16.9%

CF Montreal – 13.1%