MONTREAL — There will be a new twist in a growing rivalry when the Montreal Impact face the Columbus Crew.

Neither team will have its 31-year-old Argentine midfield maestro. Montreal's Ignacio Piatti is recovering from a hand injury and the Crew's Federico Higuain is out 5-to-7 weeks after hernia surgery.

"They are two players that can unbalance, that are very creative, that are a big part of their respective teams," Montreal coach Mauro Biello said Friday. "It changes a bit both phases of our game, offensively and defensively, but it's the same for them.

"It kind of balances out. It's about other players stepping up and reacting to the opportunity."

Throw in that Montreal's top defender Laurent Ciman is away with Belgium in the European Championship and that Impact-killer Kei Kamara is no longer with the Crew and it gives a different look to their match-up Saturday night in Columbus. It will be Montreal's fifth meeting with the Crew in its last 15 games.

"I think (Montreal) won't be as difficult to defend in transition because Piatti gives them so much in terms of quality in the box, quality in transition moments," Columbus midfielder Wil Trapp told his team's website. "That will help us out a lot, but at the same time, there's always a next guy up that can hurt you."

That could be Johan Venegas, who returned this week from a strong showing in the Copa America for Costa Rica.

Kamara was traded to New England on May 12 for criticizing Higuain after a 4-4 draw with Montreal in which the Crew blew a 4-1 lead at home. They each scored twice in the match, but they also argued on the field over who would take a penalty in the 53rd minute. Piatti scored twice for Montreal, Didier Drogba got another and set up Dominic Oduro's equalizer in stoppage time.

The Impact beat Columbus 2-0 at Olympic Stadium on April 19, avenging a loss on aggregate goals to the Crew in an Eastern Conference semifinal last fall.

Kamara's replacement is Ola Kamara (no relation), a Norwegian who had a hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Salt Lake on May 28.

"He's given us fits for sure and Ola Kamara is the same profile," said Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush. "He might be a little more open to getting in behind and using his pace, but it's a lot of the same things that gave us problems with Kei Kamara before."

The Impact (5-4-4) are coming off a three-week break from league play since ending a six-game winless run with a 3-2 win at home over the Los Angeles Galaxy. During the league break, they were eliminated by Toronto FC from Voyageurs Cup play.

Ninth-place Columbus (3-5-5) beat Tampa Bay 4-0 Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup, when they dressed only 16 players due to injuries.

Fullback Donny Toia and midfielders Marco Donadel and Calum Mallace aren't fit to return from injuries, so it will be up to Drogba, Oduro and others to try to pick up a third road win of the season in Columbus, a town that Concord Township, Ohio native Bush knows well.

"It's not like Portland or Salt Lake or Seattle where you have a lot of fans and it's a great atmosphere," he said. "I don't want to say too much because Ohio's my home state, but soccer's not what it is in other places around the league.

"It isn't always a sellout. Its not always a crazy atmosphere. So sometimes getting up for those games as an opposing team is the hard part. But we know what to expect."