Welcome back MLS, and welcome back to our Match Threads, which serve primarily as mega-previews for every New York City FC match. We also make updates when scores change and when play stops, so check back to keep up with what unfolds in Columbus, and become a subscriber to ensure you can read every word of this, match after match.
• Matchday 16: Columbus Crew vs New York City FC
• Date and Kickoff Time: Wednesday, July 22, 7:40 pm ET
• Venue: ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, Columbus, OH
• Forecast: A pleasant summer night for soccer, 71F/21C
• Watch: Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Jessica Charman and Ian Joy (English), Raul Guzman (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Lorenzo Hernandez (referee), Meghan Mullen and Kevin Lock (assistant referees), Atahan Yaya (fourth official), Lukasz Szpala (VAR), Mike Kampmeinert (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the All Nations Kit, with navy, not orange, socks; Crew will be in their gold-and-black Crafted for Excellence Kit
New York City FC is back and set to play a Major League Soccer match for the first time in 60 days.
In that time away, the club's roster got stronger on paper, though despite one big new signing (Bénie Traoré) and two first-team players returning from loan (James Sands, Mitja Ilenič), NYCFC still returns from its World Cup break with nine members of the squad ruled out with injuries for the first game back.
The lineup Pascal Jansen rolls out against the Crew will look different, and it won't be anything close to full-strength, but the potential for a Bénie Traoré debut should offset some of the uneasiness over all the injuries still sidelining key members of the squad.
They will play in a familiar place against a familiar opponent, since NYCFC's next-to-last match prior to the months-long pause for the FIFA World Cup was also against Columbus Crew at their stadium, though in the US Open Cup quarterfinals, a quarterfinal that the Crew won.
