Orlando City SC vs Columbus Crew Prediction: Back Orlando to snatch a narrow win

Orlando City and Columbus Crew will face each other in a single-leg knockout match. Orlando City has been incredible in the playoff, beating Nashville SC on both legs, while Columbus Crew won 2 of 3 playoff matches against Atlanta United to make it to this round.

This will be their 3rd meeting this year after they faced each other twice during the MLS league season. They played a draw in their first meeting and then Orlando City won the reverse fixture.

Orlando City

Orlando City are in excellent form at the moment and their stats clearly show the team's quality. They ended the season in 2nd place on the MLS table, winning 34, drawing 9, and losing 7 matches out of the 34 games. They also ended the season with a 4-match win streak and continued in that form in the playoffs. In the playoffs, they faced Nashville SC on both legs and they won both games by a 1-0 scoreline.

In the first playoff match, Wilder Cartagena scored the only goal while the team also managed to get 59% possession, 5 shots on target, and 9 corner kicks within regulation time. In the return leg away at the Geodis Park, Ivan Angulo opened scored the only goal in the 6th minute to put Orlando City in the lead. They had 47% possession, 5 shots on target, and 5 corner kicks in that game.

Orlando City and Columbus Crew are facing each other for the 3rd time this year. They played a 2-2 draw at the Lower.com field back in May and then Orlando City won the return leg 4-3 at the Exploria Stadium.

Columbus Crew

Columbus Crew’s experience at the playoffs has been tough but they are feeling confident to have made it this far. The Crew ended the season 3rd on the log with a total of 57 points from 16 wins, 9 draws, and 9 defeats in 34 matches. They proceeded to the playoffs and were drawn with Atlanta United. Columbus Crew won the first leg, beating Atlanta United 2-0 at the Lower.com field. Cucho Hernandez scored a brace in both halves to give Columbus Crew the win in the first leg. And in the return leg, Columbus Crew lost 4-2 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Cucho Hernandez and Maximilian Arfsten were both on target for The Crew, but it was not enough to win the game. The round had to be decided in the final leg, at the Lower.com field and The Crew came out on top, beating Atlanta United 4-2 in that match. Darlington Nagbe, Malte Amundsen, Alexandru Matan, and Diego Rossi were the goalscorers in that match.

Head to Head

According to the head-to-head, in their 20 meetings, Orlando City has won 10 matches, while Columbus Crew won 6 matches, and 4 matches ended in a draw.

Streaks

Orlando City:

Wins in last 6 matches

No losses in 7 matches.

No goals conceded in 3 matches

Less than 2.5 goals in 4/5 matches

First to score in 6/6 matches.

First-half winner in 5/6 matches

Less than 10.5 corners in 6/7 matches.

Columbus Crew:

Both teams scored in 7/8 matches.

Less than 10.5 corners in 5/6 matches.

Analysis and Predictions

Orlando City are the favored team in this clash against Columbus Crew. According to statistics from the head-to-head, they are unbeaten in their last 4 matches against Columbus Crew. Columbus Crew have also failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 matches against Orlando City.

6 of their last 7 matches ended with more than 2.5 goals scored and both teams scoring.

Columbus Crew scored first in 4 of their last 5 meetings and went on to win the first half in those games.

• Home Win or Draw and Under 4.5 Goals at 1.666 Odds
• Over 8 Corners at 1.83 Odds
• Home to Win Either Half at 1.62 Odds