It is very rare in any sport in the United States to have two teams from the same state competing at the very top of the table. This is the case on this one, with the opponents being from the State of Ohio. Columbus Crew lead the Eastern Conference, just 2 points ahead of FC Cincinnati. And on Sunday May 17 at 23:00 GMT, at Lower.com Field, they will settle their differences. It will be the first match between the two for this season. The 2nd one will be held on July 13.
2 draws vs 2 losses
This is one of the differences between the two sides. Both have played 11 games and count 7 victories. There is only one team that has a better record and that’s Vancouver, leading the overall standings of the MLS. The 2nd difference is the offense and defense tallies. Columbus are at 18 for, 10 against, while Cincinnati are at 15-13 respectively.
Based on the above, we would consider that it would be most likely that the hosts would emerge victorious. However…. The last encounter between the two ended in a 2-1 away victory for the visitors. Before that, there was a streak of 4 consecutive wins for Crew. Interestingly, it’s the scores of these matches that should be taken into consideration. 1-2,3-0,2-0, 3-2, 3-0,2-2. i.e. looking for the odds of an over 2.5 (even over 3) would be a good option.
Everything can change until the fight
Two away matches await Columbus. One at Philadelphia having the exact same record and are standing 2nd. Therefore, it is a match that it is quite likely that they will lose. The second one is at Montreal which should not present a difficulty, as the Canadian side is second to last. On the other hand, Cincinnati will host Austin (15th) and then travel to Toronto (3rd to last). Both of these matches should end up in wins for them, one way or another. Which translates to a quite possible situation where, when the two sides meet, their positions could be reversed.
Update
Oh boy! That’s the only expression that can describe the intensity of the confrontation. Columbus drew at Philadelphia 2-2 while Cincinnati won over Austin 2-1. Now they are tied at 2nd place with 25 points each! And that is not expected to change on the matches that they both have against the Canadians (Montreal and Toronto respectively!
The odds say Columbus
@2.03 vs @3.54 with the draw priced at @3.59. That’s how the bookmakers see this match. Essentially, they consider that Crew are both on better shape and with the full home field advantage. Admittedly, there is nothing that can happen in between to justify a serious change. While we disagree with the assessment and think that the proper offers should be more in the vicinity of @2.50 vs @3.00, it cannot justify dropping the offers altogether.
There’s nothing interesting enough in other markets, therefore, we will go ahead with suggesting a win for Columbus Crew to those that will open an account at the best betting platform. Of course, a draw is quite possible when we are dealing with two equal teams. However, when both are just 2 points behind the top, the result is highly unlikely. It serves neither as to their purposes, so, they will both fight to the end to win it.