Wilfried Nancy acknowledged Columbus Crew face a tough task against Inter Miami, but insisted he wanted the team to "be ourselves".

Columbus sit top of the Eastern Conference after eight games with 18 points and have not lost so far this season.

Having registered back-to-back draws in mid-March, Columbus got back on track and have won their last three outings, all by a 2-1 scoreline.

Nancy is expecting an intriguing match up at Huntington Bank Field and believes the Crew have what it takes to hold off Miami's threat.

"Obviously, this is a good team with good players, especially one player," he said. "This is still amazing what he does as he's aged.

"But it's going to be a good team to play. We know they're a team that can score at any moment. They have a lot of experience, so obviously there's going to be a high intensity.

"We need to have a good performance. Montreal was a good performance, so that's what I'm focusing on for us. The task doesn't change.

"The idea is to be spot on when we attack. We have to attack well and defend well. I won't reinvent everything, but be good in specific moments and to be ourselves."

Miami have also made an unbeaten start to MLS, but having played a game less than their opponents, they sit fourth in the table on 15 points.

After clinching their place in the Concacaf Champions Cup semi-finals by beating Los Angeles FC, Miami followed it up by drawing 0-0 with Chicago Fire, a match which saw Lionel Messi strike the woodwork twice.

Head coach Javier Mascherano was frustrated by the result, but highlighted the fight his team showed as a major positive.

"It was a tough match against a rival who has had a very good start to the season," Mascherano said of the game against Chicago Fire.

"The team leaves everything on the field, and honestly, beyond always wanting to win, I left with the feeling that the team tried everything until the end to win.

"Fortunately, we have a long week which gives us a bit of breathing room after the intense start to the season we’ve had."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Columbus Crew – Diego Rossi

Diego Rossi, who scored the winning goal for Columbus on Sunday, has 17 goals and 11 assists since the start of last season, both the most for any current player on the Crew in that time.

Inter Miami – Lionel Messi

Messi was held without a goal contribution on Sunday in Chicago.

Messi has gone consecutive starts in all competitions without contributing to a goal only once since the start of last season: in May 2024 against CF Montreal and D.C. United.

MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN

Inter Miami are unbeaten in five straight regular-season meetings with Columbus (W4 D1) dating back to September 2022.

However, the Crew did eliminate Miami in the round of 16 in last season's Leagues Cup, winning 3-2 after completing an impressive comeback.

Columbus are unbeaten in eight straight matches to start a season for the second time in club history (also in 2010). Only two teams in the last 10 seasons have gone unbeaten in nine straight matches to start a season (Seattle Sounders in 2021, FC Dallas in 2017).

Inter Miami’s regular-season unbeaten run extended to 18 games with a scoreless draw against Chicago Fire on Sunday (W12 D6). The Herons can equal the longest regular-season unbeaten run in MLS history (19 – FC Dallas in 2010-11, Columbus in 2004-05) with a result against the Crew, who will not want them to equal that record.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Columbus Crew – 45.7%

Draw – 26.8%

Inter Miami – 27.5%