NYCFC vs Columbus Crew: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

New York City FC welcome Columbus Crew to Yankee Stadium, as they look to continue their excellent run of form and close the gap at the top.

Date: 15/06/24

Kick-off time: 00:30

Venue: Yankee Stadium

It has been an impressive resurgence for New York, with five wins in a row allowing them to climb up to third in the Eastern Conference. They have won nine games this season, hoping to make it 10 and six in a row. They have 29 points, and are just four behind Inter Miami, who sit top. They also have two games in hand on the league leaders, so are in a great position to compete for first. However, victory in this game will be crucial as they are also level on points with New York Red Bulls.

Columbus Crew are also enjoying a good season, as they are in seventh place, five points behind this weekend’s opponents. Columbus have played just 14 games this season, and have as many as three games in hand on the teams around them. They have lost just twice, which is the least of any team.

The visitors have won three of their last four league games, scoring nine in this period. Despite the winning streak for New York, they have only kept one clean sheet in this time, which could perhaps give Columbus the opportunity to get on the scoresheet. They spread the goals out, and are led by Diego Rossi and Cucho Hernandez who have scored four each. Similarly, New York have multiple attacking threats, including Santiago Rodriguez and Adrian Martinez who have combined for 12 goals.

Since 2020, these two teams have met 10 times in MLS. There has not been much to split the pair, though Columbus have just edged the head-to-head with five wins to New York’s three. There should be goals expected, with seven of the 10 meetings seeing both teams on the scoresheet. The last two games ended in 1-1 draws, with there being a win each in the two fixtures prior. However, both draws finished in dramatic fashion, as each side saw victory snatched away from them at the death. In both games, there was a 94th minute equaliser to ensure the points were shared.

NYCFC

New York City should have a mostly fit squad to choose from for this game. Defender Rio Hope-Gund missed the last game with a leg injury, so his availability is in question.

Columbus Crew

Goalkeeper Evan Bush has been missing with an arm injury but is nearing a return. However it remains to be seen if this game comes too soon. They do not have any other injury concerns otherwise.

NYCFC

In their last five games, New York City have been perfect, winning all five. It has been a dominant stretch which has helped them climb the standings. They started this run with a narrow 3-2 win away at Toronto. They went ahead midway through the first half from the spot, with Santiago Rodriguez converting the penalty. The lead was doubled on the stroke of half time through Malachi Jones, but the hosts were back in the game shortly after the restart as Federico Bernadeschi pulled one back. Andres Perea added an insurance goal, though another strike from the home side in the 89th minute made it nervy in the closing stages, however New York were able to hold on.

They made it two wins in a row with a 2-1 victory at Philadelphia Union. It was a very quick start for the visitors with striker Alonso Martinez opening the scoring in just the second minute. They made it two in first half stoppage time through Hannes Wolf to give them a comfortable lead at the break. Julian Carranza halved the deficit shortly into the second, but this is how the score remained. New York Red Bulls were the next opponents, and they inflicted a second consecutive 2-1 defeat. Once again it was a quick start, this time Wolf opening the scoring in the third minute. Red Bulls equalised through Cameron Harper just before the break, but Mounsef Bakrar restored City’s lead midway through the second half.

Another victory followed, with a tight 1-0 win away at New England Revolution. It was an even game with both sides enjoying plenty of shot attempts, but the decisive goal did not come until the 81st minute, with Keaton Parks’ strike the difference. Their most recent game was their biggest of the stretch, as they crushed San Jose Earthquakes 5-1 at home. All of the goals came in the second half, the first from Wolf in the 50th minute. The visitors responded instantly, but four goals in the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time took the game away. This included a late hat-trick from Martinez.

Columbus Crew

In their last five games, Columbus Crew have won three and lost two. It has been a decent stretch for Columbus, though they did taste defeat in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final. This came in their most recent game as they lost 3-0 to Mexican side Pachuca. Ex-Premier League striker Salomon Rondon scored twice either side of a Miguel Emilio Rodriguez Marcias goal.

This followed a league victory at Orlando City. They won 2-0, but had just three shots on target in the whole match. Diego Rossi scored both goals, with the first coming on the stroke of half-time from the penalty spot. He scored his second 15 minutes into the second half to secure the win. This made it a third win in a row after victories against Chicago Fire and Montreal Impact. The first of those was a 3-1 at Montreal. They took the lead early through Maximilian Arfsten, but were pegged back by a penalty just before the break. Diego Rossi restored the Columbus lead, before Maino Hinestroza added a third at the death.

They repeated this scoreline away at Chicago. Rossi’s strike after half an hour put them in front, and Christian Ramirez scored in the second half to double the lead. Carlos Teran pulled one back with five minutes to go to make the ending a little nervy, but Jacen Russell-Rowe added some insurance three minutes later. Their first game of this run ended in a 2-1 home defeat to Cincinnati. It was goalless for the majority before the away side scored twice in as many minutes to take a two-goal lead. Columbus pulled one back through Arfsten, but were unable to complete the comeback.

Both teams are in great form coming into this game, though Columbus will be hoping to bounce back from Champions Cup defeat. New York have looked unstoppable in recent weeks and we expect this to continue with another win – NYCFC 2-1 Columbus Crew

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NYCFC vs Columbus Crew will be available to watch on Apple TV.

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