MLS: Columbus Crew vs. Atlanta United Betting Preview, Odds, Head to Head, Prediction

The MLS champion, Columbus Crew, hosts Atlanta United on Saturday night. The two sides aren’t in some great form and are hoping to stop the negative series. Columbus lost two in a row, while on the other side, Atlanta’s problems aren’t stopping despite changing their head coach recently. The pressure is high for both teams. Columbus is on the verge of the playoff zone, while United needs to win to keep minimal chances for reaching the same.

Preview

Columbus Crew (-120) lost the previous two games allowing four goals in each of those. The first one was against NYC on the road, 4-1, and after that came a KO at home to DC United, 2-4. It appears that the move to the new stadium, Lower.com Field, created some troubles for the champs, who have only one win at that venue in the previous four games.

Right now, they sit seventh in the East with 24 points, one more than Montreal, who is outside the playoff area. With a win or two, the Crew could go up, but they need to show some consistency in order for that to happen.

Five of their previous seven games ended with over 2.5 goals and with both teams netting as well.

Atlanta United (+333) didn’t win in the past 12 games and has just one victory in 15 previous events. After losing three in four, they would play 2-2 with Montreal on the road and a game that saw all four goals in the latter 45 minutes.

This was the fourth consecutive away game for the Five Stripes, in which we saw goals on both ends of the field. Atlanta usually allows two or more goals when playing on the road, which was the case in five of the last six outings.

Currently, the franchise from Georgia collected 15 points, which is nine fewer than Crew, and in order to reach the postseason, they would need to create a multi-game winning streak, which is, to be honest, hard to happen right now.

Latest News

Aidan Morris is out for the hosts, Artur also, while Milton Valenzuela has right thigh problems. Perry Kitchen is ruled out, while Vito Wormgoor and Josh Williams stand as doubtful.

Emerson Hyndman tore his ACL and is out, while Jake Mulraney, Brooks Lennon, and Franco Ibara also won’t play on Saturday night. Mo Adams has a quad injury and won’t be able to play too.

Head to Head Games

The previous H2H clash between these two sides was two weeks ago, and Crew won in Atlanta with a minimal result, 1-2. Overall, the team from Columbus has four consecutive victories against this opponent.

Prediction

The streak of good results for Columbus against Atlanta should continue. We really believe that anything other but the hosts’ victory here would be a massive surprise, especially because United plays terribly over the past two months. The odds are quite solid, and given all the circumstances, this should be a very good pick. For those who are willing to risk to make more money, go with Columbus -1.5.

Pick: Columbus wins

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