Orlando City SC (13 wins, 14 losses, 6 draws) welcomes the Columbus Crew (10-7-16) to Exploria Stadium Sunday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. ET. Below, we preview Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Orlando City FC vs. Columbus Crew odds, and make our best MLS bets, picks and predictions.
It is a win-and-you’re-in situation for both of these clubs.
Columbus sits 7th in the East with 46 points and 10 wins (the first tiebreaker in playoff contending is overall wins). Orlando sits 8th with 45 points and the next closest is Charlotte with 42 points who is out of contention.
Columbus could have put themselves in a far easier position with a win in its last battle, drawing Charlotte and allowing a 94th-minute equalizer. For the Crew, they’re led by M Lucas Zelarayán, who has 10 goals, and midseason addition F Cucho with 9.
Orlando City has lost 4 of its last 5 matches, but have actually won 5 of its last 9. Orlando City is led by F Ercan Kara (11 goals) and F Facundo Torres (8).
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Orlando City FC vs. Columbus Crew odds
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:12 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Orlando City FC +112 (bet $100 to win $112) | Columbus Crew SC +235 (bet $100 to win $235) | Draw +255
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: -125 | U: +100)
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Prediction
Orlando City 2, Columbus Crew 1
Moneyline (ML)
LEAN ORLANDO CITY FC (+112).
While the Crew may be a draw-heavy side, Orlando City is not. It hasn’t drawn a match since July 17, having either won or lost its last 12 matches. It beat Columbus 2-0 earlier in the season.
The Crew’s recent track record of road performances isn’t ideal, having drawn Charlotte, lost to Inter Miami, and drawn Chicago. Both draws were against teams outside of playoff position.
On the other side, Orlando has won 3 of its last 4 at home, taking down Toronto, Seattle, and NYCFC. It is 8-8-0 at home this season.
Orlando hasn’t had spectacular performances lately, but it has played well the last few weeks while Columbus has had more uncertain performances. Considering that, I’ll lean toward the home side in a must-win match.
Over/Under (O/U)
BET OVER 2.5 (-125).
The Crew have scored in their last 5 and in 11 of their last 12. In those matches, they’ve scored multiple times in 7 of the 11.
Columbus has allowed 8 goals in its last 5 matches. Columbus has been better offensively since adding Cucho who has given them a dynamic forward.
Orlando is averaging 1.5 goals per game at home. In general, Orlando City hasn’t had a good defense this season either, giving up 1.58 goals per game. Even at home they only have 4 clean sheets.
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