Columbus Crew are back in action this week against Sporting Kansas City and the two teams will face each other at the Lower.com Field.
Columbus Crew are coming off a 2-1 defeat against Inter Miami last week and they hope to bounce back at home in the upcoming fixture. They had been in very fantastic form prior to the defeat, and there’s still enough belief in the squad that they can get back to winning ways. And for Sporting Kansas City, a win is as important as ever. They had been in very poor form and their recent loss against Real Salt Lake is their second defeat in a row.
According to the table, Columbus Crew is ranked 6th on the eastern conference table with 27 points in 16 games while Sporting Kansas City is ranked 13th on the western conference table with 14 points.
Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew hoped for a better ending to their last game against Inter Miami CF, but it ended in a defeat and now they are hoping to bounce back against a weaker opposition side, Sporting Kansas City.
Columbus Crew’s record in the last 5 games looks good despite the defeat, as they had 4 straight wins and then 1 defeat. However, across the last 10 games, Columbus Crew recorded 4 wins, 2 defeats and 4 draws.
Columbus Crew lost 2-1 against Inter Miami CF last week away from home. Inter Miami had the opening goal in just 10 minutes into the game and then they doubled their lead 11 minutes later. In the 40th minute, Cucho Hernandez slotted in Columbus Crew’s first goal and they went into the break with some confidence of a comeback. Unfortunately, in the second half, the game stayed scoreless and Columbus Crew were defeated 2-1 in the end.
A summary of Columbus Crew’s game against Inter Miami was:- 68% possession, 2 big chances, 5 goalkeeper saves, 4 corner kicks and 4 shots on target.
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas’ recent form really needs no further introduction. They are one of the poorest teams in the MLS and according to the table, only the San Jose Earthquakes have fewer points than they do in the MLS. Sporting Kansas City have lost back-to-back games, which makes their chances of a win in this game even slimmer.
In the last 5 games, Sporting Kansas City won only 1 game and lost the other 4. That win was against the Seattle Sounders almost 2 weeks ago. Prior to that win, they lost 7 games in a row. And in their last 10 league games, they recorded 1 win and 9 losses.
Sporting Kansas’ defeat to Real Salt Lake last week was no surprise, although they managed to score 3 goals in that game. After conceding the opening goal in the 14th minute, Johnny Russell failed to convert a penalty to bring Sporting Kansas level in the 23rd minute, but 5 minutes later, Stephen Afrifa leveled the game. And then in the 33rd minute, Salt Lake went ahead once more and in the 51st minute, they had the third goal. In the 70th minute, William Agada scored Sporting’s second goal and yet again they conceded the 4th in the 84th minute. Finally, William Agada scored his brace in the 90+5 minute and the game ended 4-3.
A summary of the Sporting Kansas game was:- 57% possession, 1 big chance, 5 goalkeeper saves, 13 corner kicks and 8 shots on target.
Head to Head
According to the h2h, in the last 20 meetings between both clubs, Sporting Kansas City won 10 games while Columbus Crew won 5 games and 5 games ended as a draw.
Match Facts:-
5/5 meetings ended with less than 2.5 goals
4/5 meetings ended with less than 10.5 corners
Analysis and Predictions
The Columbus Crew have no excuse not to win this game. They clearly have a better team, record and they are playing at home which is such a huge advantage. For Sporting Kansas City, they have one play and that will be to keep things tight to keep Columbus Crew out. Unfortunately, the Crew are most likely to break through whatever defenses that Sporting Kansas sets up.
- Columbus Crew (-1.5) Corners Handicap at 1.696 Odds
- Columbus Crew to Win and Under 4.5 Goals at 1.86 Odds
- Under 10 Corners at 1.83 Odds