The MLS is finally back after a long break due to the Leagues Cup celebration. It was a successful project for the Americans, as, whoever wins the trophy, will bring joy back to the USA. However, we are yet to see how this long pause can affect the rhythms of the teams, as the ones that tried harder may bring a good amount of fatigue.
This time we have two teams that survived the group phase of the aforementioned international competition, as Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati want to retake things where they left them.
This match will be the opener of the round, alongside three more games, so it will be like a mouth-opener for what is coming.
When:
Sunday, August 20th, 2023 – 7:30 pm ET at the Lower.com Field
Betting Odds:
Columbus Crew +105
FC Cincinnati +250
Draw:
+260
Where can I watch it?
Why bet on Columbus Crew?
Columbus Crew is a weird team. We could say they had the most impressive performance in all the Leagues Cup group phase, beating St. Louis City and Club América, destroying the latter, just to fall to a low-profile team like Minnesota in the next round.
Overall we are accustomed to things like this from this club. They started the season steam-rolling FC Cinncinati, their next rivals, just before the Orange & Blues started a winning streak that would take them to the top of the overall MLS table.
This traditional club tends to perform pretty poorly, just to wake up and do things like their 2020 heroics, when they won the MLS title.
They come to this game in the 6th place in the Eastern Conference with 10 wins, 6 draws, and 7 losses.
Why bet on FC Cincinnati?
The overall leaders of the MLS come to the restart of the league campaign after falling in the round of 32 of the Leagues Cup (same as Columbus) to Nashville Sc on penalties. The young franchise has been having a dream season, and they want to retake things where they left them, well positioned to obtain the Supporters’ Shield.
We don’t talk about the MLS title, as we know that, in leagues with postseason (also known as Liguilla or Cuadrangular in other places), the leader rarely gets its hands on the major prize. Whatever the case, they want to keep the good performance and against the team that destroyed them at the beginning of the season, they have a chance to improve their mood by a mile.
They come with 15 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses, with many of those ties coming as of late.
Final Betting Analysis: Columbus Crew vs. FC Cincinnati
The table is set for an excellent match to reignite the MLS emotions. These two teams are contenders for the title and want to revalidate that status with a win. Looking at the statistics, the team from Ohio is better by a long shot, but not everything is as simple. As we said already, the last match between these two was a thrashing to be remembered to the now visitors, so they have to get rid of the bad memories to change their luck this time.
Both teams ended their Leagues Cup run at the same time, so there are no major differences in stamina. In this context, we believe that the Orange & Blues will do better, but just to get a draw. Go for a 1-1.
Go for the Moneyline draw at +260. If you bet $100 on a tie at such odds, you could get $260 for a total payout of $360.
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