Columbus Crew Vs Nashville SC
Columbus Crew Vs Nashville SC Thursday 22 July, 2021 – 00:30
US Major League Soccer
Pick: Both Teams to Score
Odds: Evens
Bookmaker: Betfair
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 21 July 2021)
Preview: In this their third MLS meeting, Nashville resume their search for a first away league win of the year that would also earn them their first ever victory against the Columbus Crew, who remain unbeaten at their MAPFRE Stadium so far this season.
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Table of Contents
Columbus Crew – Back to winning ways but conceding remains a problem?
All eyes will fall on Lucas Zelarayan when Columbus Crew return to MLS action with a third MLS home game versus Nashville, having prevailed 2-0 the previous two times – latterly in last year’s play-off quarter-finals. That is because the 29-year-old Argentine is closing in on the record for most goals scored direct from a free-kick in a single season, scoring his fourth such goal in last week’s 2-1 win over NYCFC.
That result, which was extremely hard-fought, dare we even say fortunate after comfortably losing the match on xG 0.72 to 2.25 according to Infogol, stopped a three-game drawing sequence firmly in its tracks. It was the third straight game scoring twice but also conceding, with that now just two clean sheets in eleven (W5 D3 L3). More importantly, however, it keeps them in play-off contention.
The top-seven make the cut upon completion of the regular season. So far so good in that respect for Caleb Porter’s men, who enjoy a three point buffer in sixth over the New York duo of Red Bulls and City. Such a position of comfort could become, well, less comfortable should their tendency to underwhelm on the road stay true. Further adding to the significance of every point earned in Columbus.
Nashville SC – In form but suspect on their travels?
Following up the record breaking 5-1 trouncing at Nissan Stadium of Chicago Fire won’t be straightforward against an opponent that has not incurred a single home defeat all season. But Nashville intend on giving it their best shot. Gary Smith’s side do so on the back off the club’s most emphatic victory in MLS thus far, capped off by the earliest to start a match in the competition’s history by Hany Mukhtar.
The 26-year-old German, a Designated Player on this roster, nearly doubled his tally for the campaign in one evening’s work. In fact, he will wonder how he didn’t add to his four goals from seven previous appearances in the Black and Yellow, netting three times in a blistering 16-minute opening salvo but nothing thereafter. The bigger picture, however, was a win that keeps them towards the top in the East.
Nashville closed to within a point of the Eastern Conference’s top-two with that wide margin success, putting five between themselves and the play-off precipice. They are now five unbeaten, all at home, since losing the last of their three away games for the season 2-0 at New York Red Bulls. They will next attempt to tick off two boxes: the first being a maiden away MLS win, the other multiple victories in a row.
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Colombus Crew Vs Nashville Betting Advice
With just the four losses in 26 games between them this season, separating two of the current top six in the Eastern Conference could take some doing. Columbus Crew will arguably be the most confident of the two. As hosts, The Crew boast a tidy record of W4 D2, denied three points only in games against New England and Philadelphia Union – the best two teams in this side of the league at present.
Columbus Crew Vs Nashville SC – Key Facts:
- Just the two points are all that separate Columbus Crew (W5 D5 L3), in sixth, from Nashville (W5 D7 L1), in fourth, in the Eastern Conference.
- Columbus Crew are among six sides still to lose a home MLS fixture this season, registering four wins out of six thus far and netting 2+ goals in each of the last five.
- Nashville have spent most of the campaign in their own backyard, venturing away from home for only the fourth time all season. They are yet to register an away win (D2 L1).
Nashville are yet to win away, picking up two of a possible nine points. They make for stubborn opposition, though, with Seattle Sounders the only other team to lose as few as one league fixture in 2021. Four of the last five seen them score as well as concede. This was also the case the last three times for Columbus Crew, and all but one of the past five here at MAPFRE Stadium. So I am expecting positive things from both.
Best Betting Odds – Columbus Crew Vs Nashville
Columbus Crew – 13/10 (PaddyPower)
Draw – 11/5 (BetVictor)
Nashville – 23/10 (Betfair)
