Columbus Crew at New England Revolution Betting Preview

Columbus Crew at New England Revolution Betting Preview

Barry Devoe
3 years ago
3 min read
Columbus Crew at New England Revolution Betting Preview

The Columbus Crew rallied for a desperately needed 2-1 home win over New York Red Bulls on Tuesday. Still, outside the playoff picture, the defending champions head east this weekend for a showdown with the first-place New England Revolution. Friday night kickoff at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and ESPN+ will have the broadcast.

These teams played one of the best games of the MLS season back on July 3 in the first-ever game at Lower.com Field in Columbus. The Revs built an early 2-0 lead but the Crew rallied to tie it thanks to an own goal and both teams saw their goalkeepers make brilliant late saves. When they met in May in New England, the Revolution walked away with a 1-0 win.

Crew Looking for Consecutive Wins

The Crew may have saved their season on Tuesday night. Down 1-0 in the 74th minute at home against a struggling Red Bulls team, Darlington Nagbe tied the game and Miguel Berry won it in the 88th minute. The win gives the Crew 30 points on the season, now just three points behind Atlanta United for the final playoff spot. 

Still playing without injured striker Gyasi Zardes, the Crew are getting the contributions from others they have been waiting for. Berry has four goals in the last five games. They will need both Berry and Nagbe to help Lucas Zelarayan against the high-powered Revs this weekend. 

The Crew defense stepped up last game as well, holding the Red Bulls to just one early goal. Defender Jonathan Mensah, the Crew captain, was named to the MLS Team of the Week with six clearances, two tackles and five possessions gained. He made life easy in front of Eloy Room who has allowed 32 goals in 23 starts. 

Revs are the Team to Beat

Bruce Arena and the Revolution gave the Crew a scare in the playoffs last year and have used that result as a spring board to the best record in MLS in 2021. New England leads the East by 14 points and they have a one-point lead for the Supporters’ Shield thanks to a 10-1-1 home record. 

The Revolution beat contenders NYCFC 2-1 last Saturday and didn’t have a mid-week game so they are well rested waiting for the Crew. They have turned Gillette into a fortress with five wins and a draw since losing on July 7. New England has scored at least two goals in eight of their last nine home games. 

Gustavo Bou is an MVP candidate with a team-leading 12 goals while Carles Gil has 16 assists. Adam Buksa is also in double-digits with goals and he scored against the Crew earlier this season. The Revolution playmakers have been on fire all season long to lead the team to an MLS-best 47 goals. 

Matt Turner took over the #1 goalkeeper spot for the USMNT this summer in the Gold Cup and World Cup Qualifiers. In 19 starts with the Revs, he has allowed 23 goals with 12 wins and four clean sheets. While he was with the USMNT Brad Knighton took over winning five of six games.

Betting Analysis

Columbus Crew +475

New England Revolution -150

Draw +350

Total Goals: 2.5. Over -140. Under +115

First to Score: Crew +200. Revolution -230. No Goals +950

This game will definitely have goals and it isn’t a great matchup for the Crew. They need a result and should have some confidence coming off Tuesday but the Revs are well-rested and playing better than anyone in the league with less than two months before the playoffs. 

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