Monday, at 00:30, New York Red Bulls will receive the Columbus Crew visit, in a match for the second hand of the MLS play-off quarterfinals. The game will take place at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison.
Red Bulls, favorite, but the qualification is in the hands of the guests.
The regular season champion in the Eastern Conference, New York Red Bulls, has a really tough mission Monday night on his own ground in front of a band that theoretically should not have given him so much emotion. Columbus Crew ended the championship in 5th place with a negative go-go (43-45) without impressing anything. However, in a closed match, with few occasions to go, contrary to expectations, Columbus found the resources needed to make himself a week ago, on the ground, overwhelming the calculations of the guests. It remains to be seen how long they will resist the Red Bull Arena, as New York’s home record is scary: 11 of the last 12 matches played on the Red Bull Arena ended with the host’s victory, of which the last 5 even without a blank.
In the last ten direct clashes between the two bands, the New York Red Bulls were imposed four times, Columbus in four other rows, while the other two disputes ended in a tie;
Six of the previous eight duels ended with voids on both sides;
The last direct match on the “Red Bull Arena” took place in July this year and ended with Columbus’s spectacular victory, score 3-2;
Probable teams:
New York Red Bulls (4-2-3-1): Robles- Murillo, Parker, Long, Lawrence-Adams, Davis-Muyl, Gamarra, Royer-Wright-Phillips
Columbus Crew (4-4-2): Steffen – Afful, Mensah, Sauro, Valenzuela – Santos, Artur, Trapp, Meram – Mullins, Zardes
Given the circumstances of this game, we expect a spectacular hostile run. Even though on the tour we have witnessed a single-goal and a few-phase scenario, the problem’s data is changing, as the hosts have to attack from the first minute to turn the defeat off the tour, while Columbus will not refuse, with safety, an offensive grip.
PREDICTION: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.75
