By The Numbers | Crew host Inter Miami in Leagues Cup Round of 16

After cruising past Sporting Kansas City on Friday night in their 2024 Leagues Cup debut, the Columbus Crew return to Lower.com Field on Tuesday night to host Inter Miami CF in a Round of 16 matchup.

Numbers to Know

16 – As mentioned above, Tuesday night will be a Round of 16 matchup to advance into the Leagues Cup quarterfinals. Not that we’re looking ahead, but it’s important to note that Columbus has hosting rights for as long as the Crew remain in this year’s competition. This isn’t an easy matchup by any means… we’ll talk more about Inter Miami in a second, but this is an early round to pair the 2023 MLS Cup champions against the 2023 Leagues Cup champions. Two clubs who were both legitimate title contenders meeting this early? Yeah, this has the chance to be massive.

4 – Before looking ahead, let’s look back on last Friday’s 4-0 win over SKC. Diego Rossi had a lovely brace, while two Crew players made their debut and scored. People were still clapping for DeJuan Jones making his Columbus debut when the left wingback scored his first goal for the Club. Jones only needed 20 seconds before he put the reigning champs in front, 3-0. That’s not to diminish Dylan Chambost scoring 12 minutes into his debut just two minutes later.

1 – It’s a different competition – and potentially a different Inter Miami team – but the Herons lead MLS with 53 points through 25 regular season games. That’s a four-point gap over Western Conference-leading-LAFC and a four-point lead over second-place FC Cincinnati in the East. Miami averages 2.12 points per game and has scored 39 goals – more than any team. Of course, Columbus has allowed the fewest number of goals in MLS: 22. Again, this is a massive matchup in an early round. Lionel Messi will miss the match with an ankle injury, but Crew fans need no reminding that Miami has quality all over the pitch.

18 – It’s not often we talk about a left-back, but it’s not often a club’s left-back is Jordi Alba. The Barca legend played in the 2024 MLS All-Star Game earlier this summer in Columbus, so he needs no introduction. However, his last game he registered an incredible first in his storied career. In Friday’s 4-3 win over Toronto FC, Alba had a career-high four assists. In league action this year, he’s got four goals and seven assists through 20 games.

When They Last Met

The Columbus lost, 2-1, when these clubs met June 19 in Florida. After allowing two goals in the first 21 minutes, the Black & Gold had a breakthrough from Cucho Hernandez in the 40th minute but were unable to find the equalizer.

Match Overview

Who: Columbus Crew hosts Inter Miami CF

When: Friday, Aug. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Lower.com Field

Tickets: Champions Collide

How to Watch: MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app

How to Listen: La Grande 102.5 FM | Alt 105.7 FM | iHeart Radio app | Sirius XM FC