Columbus Crew v. CF Montreal August 3 MLS Betting Odds & Preview

The Columbus Crew had a bizarre weekend in North Carolina with lightning and severe weather halting the game after 15 minutes. 

That contest will be made up on October 5 and now the Crew return home for a top-five showdown against CF Montreal. Columbus is tied for fifth place with two less games played than all the teams in front of them while Montreal is in third place, six points ahead of the Crew. 

Wednesday’s kickoff at Lower.com Field in Columbus is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will stream on ESPN+ and air on Bally Sports Great Lakes. 

This is the only regular season meeting in 2022 between these teams. Last year Columbus won at home 2-1 and they lead the all-time series 12-9 with four draws. Montreal only has two wins in their history in Columbus, one in 2020 and one in 2015 as the Crew have won 10 of the 14 home games.

Crew Are Well Rested

Saturday was supposed to start a stretch for the Crew in which they played three games in seven days. With the game in Charlotte postponed, the Crew are now well rested for a tough week at home. After playing third-place Montreal on Wednesday, Columbus hosts second-place NYCFC on Saturday. 

The Crew last played in a 0-0 draw against New England at home on July 23. That resulted ran their unbeaten streak to nine games but ended their run of scoring at least two goals in three straight games.

Columbus is 4-3-3 at home this season and they have as many points on the road as they do at home. Two of the last three games at Lower.com Field have ended 0-0 with the Crew winning the other game 2-0 against FC Cincinnati. They haven’t allowed a goal at home in 311 minutes.

The offense has flourished with the addition of Cucho Hernandez. The former Watford player has four goals in four games and is already third on the team in scoring, despite playing just 227 minutes since his July addition.

The offense still runs through playmaker Lucas Zelarayan who has five goals and five assists. Derrick Etienne Jr. also has five goals and five assists while both Erik Hurtado and Darlington Nagbe have three goals. 

The Crew are relatively healthy, with only Artur out of the lineup. With two games in four days, expect Caleb Porter to shuffle the lineup, especially in midfield and attack. 

In the defensive back four, Jonathan Mensah, Pedro Santos and Steven Moreira all have started at least 19 of the 21 games. Milos Degenek has 13 starts and Josh Williams has 11 to round out the back line. 

Eloy Room has started all 21 MLS games on the season in goal. He has allowed 20 goals ande produced 57 saves with seven clean sheets. 

Montreal Riding a Hot Streak

Montreal has gone three straight without a loss to move into third place in the East. They drew 0-0 with second place NYCFC at home on Saturday. The game in Columbus is sandwiched between home games as they will go back to host Inter Miami on Saturday.

Manager Wilfried Nancy switched Montreal from a 3-4-1-2 to a 3-5-2 for the game against NYCFC. With three games in seven days he is likely to change the lineup around as well for the contest in Columbus. 

Romell Quioto and Mason Toye are the usual starters up top with Djordje Mihailovic back from an ankle injury in the midfield. Victor Wanyama and Samuel Piette take midfield spots as well with Alistair Johnston and Lassi Lappalainen on the wings. 

Rudy Camacho is the center back in the Montreal back line with Kamal Miller and Joel Waterman on his sides. James Pantemis has taken over the starting goalkeeping job. In three starts, he has allowed one goal and made eight saves while posting two clean sheets. 

Quioto leads the team with nine goals while Mihailovic has seven. Joaquin Torres and Kei Kamara both have three goals and the latter leads the team with five assists on the season. 

Betting Analysis

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Columbus Crew: (-105) moneyline

CF Montreal: (+255) moneyline

Draw: (+255)

Total Goals: 2.5. Over (-110). Under (-115)

First Goal: Columbus Crew (-155). CF Montreal (+135). No Goals (+1000).

The Crew are looking for their third double-digit unbeaten streak in team history if they can get a result on Wednesday. Hernandez and Zelarayan have linked up well together and will put pressure on Montreal all game long. The visitors can respond through Quioto and Mihailovic and the first goal will be crucial as both teams have hot goalkeepers.