The Columbus Crew (9 wins, 7 losses, 15 draws) welcome the New York Red Bulls (14-10-8) to Lower.com Field Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we preview Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Columbus Crew vs. New York Red Bulls odds, and make our best MLS bets, picks and predictions.
The Crew come into this battle in 8th place, but they are 3 points behind 7th-place Inter Miami with 1 less game played. Columbus has drawn 6 of its last 8 and not consistently being able to close out games has been a fault of the Crews this season.
Columbus is led by star M Lucas Zelarayán, who has 9 goals on the season. Midseason addition F Cucho also has 9 goals, but he’s only played in 14 matches with 12 starts, compared to 26 and 23, respectively, for Zelarayán.
The Crew drew the Red Bulls 1-1 in March. New York, unlike Columbus, is well inside playoff position. The Red Bulls sit 3rd in the East with all the top 5 teams having played 32 matches. Columbus has played 31.
The key attacker for New York has been 26-year-old F Lewis Morgan. He has 14 goals, 9 more than the Red Bulls’ next leading scorer. The Red Bulls are tied for the 3rd-fewest goals allowed in the East.
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Columbus Crew vs. New York Red Bulls odds
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:23 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Columbus +140 (bet $100 to win $140) | New York Red Bulls +210 (bet $100 to win $210) | Draw +220
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: +115 | U: -140)
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Prediction
Columbus Crew 2, New York Red Bulls 0
Moneyline (ML)
BET COLUMBUS (+140).
The Crew have to win this game to keep their playoff aspirations alive, and Cucho has given them enough life offensively to be able to hang with the Red Bulls.
Columbus has had fewer expected goals than its opponent in just 1 of its last 5 matchups. It is 6-4-6 at home this season as well.
As for New York, it has lost 2 of its last 3 and should get off to a slow start, having not played since Sept. 17. Captain and CB Aaron Long is also coming back from the USMNT camp, so he may not see a full 90 minutes.
Combine where the motivation is for each side and Columbus’ play recently, and I would back the CREW (+140) to come out on top.
Over/Under (O/U)
LEAN UNDER 2.5 (-140).
Both teams have solid defenses, and the New York offense hasn’t been on top of its game as of late.
It has been held scoreless in 2 of its last 3 battles. The Crew have allowed just 1.13 goals per game as well, the 2nd-fewest in the Eastern Conference.
The Crew have given up more than 1 goal in 2 of their last 5 matches. Similarly, the Red Bulls would have gone Under this already-low total in 3 of their last 4 matches.
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