The final of the four MLS Conference semi-final first legs to take place is between Columbus Crew and New York City. The first leg sees Columbus Crew with the home field advantage at the MAPFRE Stadium, Ohio. In each of the other three Conference semi-final matches, it has been the away team which has come away as the happiest of the teams involved. Will New York FC maintain that run of success for the away sides or will Columbus Crew make home advantage count?
MLS: Conference-Game 1 – Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, Ohio – Wednesday 1st November – 00:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 9/4 at Ladbrokes |
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Columbus Crew
New York City FCColumbus Crew Form
Columbus Crew enter the Conference semi-finals as one of the in-form teams in the MLS thanks to their tremendous run towards the end of the season. They are undefeated in their last 11 MLS games, with home wins over Chicago Fire, LA Galaxy, FC Dallas, New York Red Bulls and DC United. Not only has their home form been good but they have also become difficult to beat on the road and have won at Orlando City and picked up draws at Vancouver Whitecaps and upcoming opponents, New York City FC. Having finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, Columbus Crew were forced into the knockout round and a very difficult trip to play Atalanta United. Columbus Crew saw out the match without conceding a goal and kept their nerve to win the game on penalties.
New York City FC Form
New York City FC finished the regular season in second place in the Eastern Conference and come into the Conference semi-finals as the second seed. However, they were only 3 points clear of Columbus Crew in the final conference standings which highlights what a closely fought match we could see at the MAPFRE Stadium. New York City FC looked like being the only team capable of keeping pace with Toronto FC at the top of the Eastern Conference but inconsistent form cost them towards the end of the regular season. They managed to win only one of their last 7 MLS games, which is a poor run going into the playoffs. However, they have lost just one of their previous 6 away MLS games but that was their last outing in New England. New York City FC have scored in 15 of their last 16 away MLS games.
Team News
Columbus Crew will be without Alex Crognale, Gaston Sauro and Ben Swanson who are all injured. They also have defender Hector Jimenez and midfielder Artur one yellow card away from suspension. New York City FC travel without the injured duo of Miguel Camargo and Maxime Chanot. They are expected to play in a 4-3-3 formation with David Villa the key man in attack.
Top Betting Tips
New York City FC have had a tough end to the regular season but when playing away from home, they have managed to find the back of the net with consistency. This makes both teams to score at 8/15 with Ladbrokes at tempting bet. Not one of the other three Conference semi-final games have produced a home win but having been on such a good run of form, Columbus Crew will believe they can take an advantage with them to New York for the second leg. Columbus Crew are 21/20 to win the match with Ladbrokes. Both teams have scored and there have been over 2.5 goals scored in the last 4 meetings between the teams at the MAPFRE Stadium. You can get 3/4 with William Hill for the same to happen again this match.