Laurent Courtois conceded there was "no excuse" for the Columbus Crew's defeat to D.C. United, saying a lack of edge in the final third cost them at Audi Field in midweek. Columbus were beaten 2-1 by D.C. after Tai Baribo's first-half double put the hosts in control, but Santiago Rodriguez did reduce the deficit four minutes after the restart.The Crew, however, were unable to build on that momentum, and only finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 0.8 from 16 shots, only four of which were on target. Following that defeat, Columbus have won just one of their last seven league matches (D1 L5), leaving them down in 13th and at risk of missing out on the playoffs this season. Columbus are among the lowest scorers in the MLS in 2026, netting 35 times in their 24 matches this season, and Courtois admits things needed to improve in the final third. "We knew exactly how they were going to try to hurt us," Courtois said. "In the first half, we were not able to contain that. It was pretty obvious, and we were expecting it."In that aspect, we have no excuse. On the brighter side is the amount of times that we arrived in the last third, and we sometimes had a little bit of lack of execution."Then again, they showed resilience and quality to arrive in their opponent's half and that third with what I would believe is good quality."We just were not in a position to score at the time, but I really believe that we created a lot. It could have been different on another day."Columbus return to ScottsMiracle-Gro Field this weekend, and they come up against a New York Red Bulls side that are enduring a slump of their own in league play. NYRB were beaten 2-0 by Los Angeles FC last time out, with Jude Terry and Armindo Sieb scoring to seal all three points for Marc Dos Santos' side. The result leaves them in 12th in the Eastern Conference and two points adrift of the playoff places, with their clash with Columbus the first of two important away matches. But in spite of their result against LAFC, NYRB boss Michael Bradley was thrilled with the performance of his players and urged them to carry that against the Crew. "I am extremely proud of the way that they went after the game, the way they competed, the way they tried to step on the field against a good team in a difficult place to play, and put the game on our terms," Bradley said."It is important they hear how proud I am of them as well, because it is easy to say that when things go well, and I also told them that I'm proud, but we are not satisfied either."We understand that we have to continue to get better and continue to be more concrete in some of the big moments of the game. "The group steps on the field in a strong way, and tries to go after things, and so that is always a good starting point. Now, we have to keep making the rest that much better."PLAYERS TO WATCHColumbus Crew – Santiago RodriguezHaving previously spent time with New York City FC in MLS, Rodriguez has returned to the United States with a bang, netting his second goal for Columbus last time out. Rodriguez also finished with team-high totals for shots (four) and touches in the opposition box (six) against D.C., and he will need to be at his very best once again. NYRB – Julian HallNo player has recorded more goal involvements for NYRB this season than Hall (13 – nine goals, four assists), but he has failed to fire of late. Hall has not registered a goal or an assist since a 2-1 win against Sporting Kansas City in May, and NYRB will be hoping he can end that streak this weekend. MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WINDespite their poor run of form, Columbus are favoured by the Opta supercomputer in its pre-match simulations, though the overall head-to-head record is incredibly tight. The two teams have squared off 68 times in MLS, with NYRB just edging the series with 26 victories to Columbus' 25, while 17 of their clashes have ended in draws. Columbus won the last encounter between the two sides on home soil, and have also won five of their last four meetings against NYRB at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field (L1). And since the return from the World Cup break, NYRB have failed to win any of their four away games (D1 L3). Their last such win came against Sporting KC on May 23.OPTA WIN PROBABILITYColumbus Crew – 52.1%Draw – 24.4%NYRB – 23.5%