The Major League Soccer season is beginning to get into a real rhythm as all clubs involved find their feet and start to build some momentum. There are plenty of reasons to believe this could be the best MLS campaign yet, with teams across North America getting better and better. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what should be a fascinating encounter between Nashville SC and Columbus Crew.
Nashville Form GuideNashville, for the longest time, were really pushing the tempo towards the top of the Eastern Conference - until they fell away massively. They wound up finishing 7th in the division and, to the surprise of nobody, went out of the playoffs pretty quickly at the hands of Orlando City. At this point, it’ll be interesting to see how they’ve been able to rebound from that disappointment.
Nashville kickstarted their season with three straight draws against New York Red Bulls, Colorado and LA Galaxy. They kept their unbeaten run going with a 2-1 win over Charlotte, before being hit with a 5-0 battering at the hands of Los Angeles FC.
Columbus Form GuideLast season, Columbus Crew once again proved why they’re one of the most revered franchises in all of Major League Soccer. Following a late run that saw them finish third in the Eastern Conference, the Crew managed to go deep into the playoffs, finishing off their run with an unforgettable triumph over Los Angeles FC in the MLS Cup final.
Columbus opened up their title defence with a 1-0 win over Atlanta. They proceeded to draw 1-1 with Minnesota before wins over Chicago and New York Red Bulls, but in their latest encounter, they were beaten 2-0 by Charlotte in what came as a bit of a surprise.
Match PredictionColumbus are going to be full of confidence right now and in a game like this, we do think they’ve got a real chance to turn on the jets. Alas, while we’re backing them to get the win, we don’t think it’ll be a complete domination, which is why our formal prediction is under 2.5 goals scored.
