Austin FC return home to face the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew at the Q2 Stadium on Sunday night.

The Verde and Black were beaten 2-0 by Minnesota United last time out and sit tenth in the Western Conference standings while the Black and Gold are coming off of a 1-0 loss in Philadelphia and are fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Team news

Austin FC will be without several key players as defender Nick Lima will miss out after picking up a serious hamstring injury in the midweek loss. Midfielder Alex Ring will also be absent after injuring himself in warmups on Wednesday while defender Ben Sweat has undergone ACL surgery and is out for the season.

Forward Aaron Schoenfeld and midfielder Ulises Segura have both undergone surgery and his return date is unknown. Forward Danny Hoesen is out through a hip issue.

Columbus makes the trip to Texas without midfielder Artur and striker Bradley Wright-Phillips as the duo are suffering from hip injuries. Midfielder Luis Diaz picked up a light knee injury while on international duty with Costa Rica and could miss out here.

Defensive midfielder Perry Kitchen remains a doubt with a thigh injury while fellow midfielder Kevin Molino, who has missed the entire season so far, was back in the squad in the midweek and could see some action in this match.

Predicted lineups

Austin FC: Stuver; Kolmanic, Cascante, Romana, Stanley; Pochettino, Berhalter, Fagundez; Gallagher, Dominguez, Stroud

Columbus: Room; Santos, Wormgoor, Mensah, Afful; Nagbe, Fraser; Matan, Zelaryan, Etienne; Zardes

Ones to watch

Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver made nine saves in the home opener against San Jose and has kept three clean sheets on the season. 

Gyasi Zardes has scored in Columbus' last two games while Lucas Zelarayan notched a pair of goals in the Black and Gold's last road game against NYCFC.

Head-to-head

This is the first-ever meeting between Austin FC and Columbus.

How to watch

Fox Sports 1 will have national coverage in the US with Fox Deportes carrying the match in Spanish. Coverage begins at 8pm Eastern time with kickoff scheduled for 8:25pm.

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