The MLS is Back Tournament leaders of Group E go head-to-head Thursday night as Columbus Crew face New York Red Bulls at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. The Crew put themselves in position to control the group with a 4-0 win over FC Cincinnati while NYRB knocked off group-favorites Atlanta United 1-0. The winner of this second game could clinch a spot in the knockout round if the Atlanta-Cincinnati game ends in a draw.
The Eastern Conference opponents faced each other twice last year with a 1-1 draw in Ohio in March and a 3-2 Crew win in New York on July 27. In 2018, they played four times total with Columbus winning twice, NYRB winning 3-0 in Ohio, and a 1-1 draw.
The 3-0 NYRB win was enough to see them win the Eastern Conference Semifinals round and advance to the MLS Cup Final Four.
Columbus Crew Outlook: Find The Offense
Columbus absolutely dominated the Hell is Real Derby on Saturday night with a 4-0 thrashing of FC Cincinnati. The Crew had over 60% of the possession and scored on four of six shots as Gyasi Zardes recorded a brace after Lucas Zelarayan’s thumping free-kick opener.
Youness Mokhtar had the fourth goal while Eloy Room preserved the shutout with three saves, but the Crew did lose Vito Wormgoor to a 17th-minute ankle injury.
Columbus began the season with a 1-0 home win over NYCFC on March 1 and drew 1-1 at defending champion Seattle six days later. Zardes and Zelarayan scored in the March games while Room made five saves in the two wins. Zardes has tallied an impressive 36 goals in 64 Crew starts since joining from LA Galaxy after the 2017 season.
New York Red Bulls Outlook: Lock-Down Defense
The Red Bulls knocked off Atlanta United 1-0 Saturday night after waiting out a 45-minute weather delay. Florian Valot scored in the fourth minute on an assist from Kaku, and despite having only 30% of the possession, that goal stood up for a 1-0 NYRB win.
David Jensen made four saves to preserve the clean sheet and move NYRB into a tie atop the group.
Red Bulls started the season with a 3-2 win at home over FC Cincinnati and a 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake before the COVID break. They have had five different goal scorers on the season, and Valot leads the team with two assists to go along with his goal.
Jensen, who joined NYRB in January from Dutch side Utrecht, has nine saves to go along with two wins and a clean sheet this season.
Columbus Crew/New York Red Bulls Betting Lines
- Columbus Crew +139 to win
- New York Red Bulls +174 to win
- Draw +248
- Over/Under 2.5 goals (O -117, U -113)
Columbus dominated FC Cincinnati from the beginning with a free-flowing style while Red Bulls played a counter-attack into a win over Atlanta. The styles will clash on Thursday night, with both teams having confidence in their approach. NYRB may struggle to stay with an in-form Zardes as the Crew look to take control of the group.
FREE PICK: Columbus Crew to win (+139)
