Toronto FC head coach Robin Fraser is hopeful that his team can take confidence from their battling draw with Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union. 

Fraser watched on as he saw his side concede in the fourth minute, but they were able to snatch a point in the 91st minute thanks to Deandre Kerr's late heroics. 

It was a result that kept Toronto down in 12th in the Eastern Conference, 14 points adrift of the playoffs, with high-flying Columbus Crew the visitors to BMO Field this weekend. 

And Fraser is aiming for a similar performance from their draw with Philadelphia in their clash with the Crew to keep their hopes of competing in the postseason alive. 

"That is the thing I really admire about this team, that they just don't really quit," said Fraser.

"To give up a goal in the first four minutes, how many times have we seen that turn into six.

"So the fact that we gave up, what I thought was a pretty poor, goal early on, could have been a little bit of a back breaker. Huge credit to the team.

"They just dug in and they fought. This has to be one of the hardest places to play in the league. You can not take a mental break. If you do, they [Philadelphia] punish you.

"Really proud of the effort to keep ourselves in it, and then to create chances down the stretch, I can’t really say enough about our performance."

Wilfried Nancy's side are in great form of late, losing just twice in their last eight MLS matches, while also winning two of their three Leagues Cup matches. 

The Crew are fifth in the Eastern Conference, seven points adrift of leaders Philadelphia, while they are level on points with Orlando City SC, who occupy fourth. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Toronto FC – Diego Rossi

Diego Rossi scored his 12th goal of the regular season in the Crew's defeat to Orlando on July 25, reaching the dozen-goal mark for the fifth time in seven career MLS seasons.

Since his debut in the competition in 2018, Rossi is the only player to score 12 or more goals in five different campaigns.

Columbus Crew – Djordje Mihailovic

Djordje Mihailovic got his Toronto career off to a great start after assisting Kerr's equaliser against the Union on his debut.

He scored nine for the Colorado Rapids earlier in the season, while also registering seven assists prior to his move.

MATCH PREDICTION – COLUMBUS CREW WIN

Columbus suffered a 3-1 defeat to Orlando City in their last regular-season match. It's been over two years since the Crew lost consecutive league matches, last doing so in May 2023.

Toronto have won only two of their last 17 home matches in all competitions (D5 L10) dating back to last season. The Reds have avoided defeat in their last three at BMO Field (W1 D2).

Columbus have won six of their last seven meetings with Toronto (D1), including the last three in a row. The only three-match winning streak by either team against the other was a four-match run by the Crew in 2012-13.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Toronto FC – 20.9%

Draw – 21.5%

Columbus Crew – 57.7%