GAME NOTES
• NY home record is stellar. They have not lost at home this year - 9 Win, 3 Draw.
• NY have won last 4 at home. 8 Goals For, 2 Against. Have shutout 3 opponents.
• Crew 2W, 1D, 2L in last 5 on the road
• Crew outscored 7 goals to 6 in last 5 road games
• Both teams coming off extended breaks, rested
PREDICTIONS
"The off week last week will help Columbus but I just like the Red Bulls at home too much in this one." Drew Epperley, WV Hooligan.
NY fans confident over at Goal.com, 76% favor the Red Bulls to win with a likely 2:1 scoreline.
Over at the betting sites we see that NY is favored across the board. Bet365 has NY at 4/5 odds and only 8% picking a Crew victory on WinDrawWin (that's about as low as I've seen it for any team).
Can't find the MLSsoccer.com "Pick 'em" feature for this week.
It's almost 8 AM as I type this and my Dispatch isn't at my door, so nothing from Adam Jardy today either. However, you should check out his work last week on Will Hesmer. It's not exactly motivating. Particularly for the players still on the roster from 2008. It's really great to see news like that though, an independent voice. The Crew (as a franchise) are very insulated by long tenured coaches, folks in front offices and extended media. Even the move from Ohio News Network to Fox Sports Ohio couldn't break this insulation.
Jardy's work on Hesmer will be a touchstone to this season and will linger through the start of next, for sure.
I am looking for the illustration credit for this image, unable to find it. It deserves credit, please email me at ljbaby654 @ gmail.com if you have any info on it.
MY PICK
New York. It's odd that it's tilting so much their way though. My reasoning for picking NY is more to do with their near perfect home form and the Crew's inability to shut anyone out over the last 9 games. The wins have come but the Crew have faced some real bottom dwellers recently; NE twice, TFC and PHI in that time.
Looking at the Defense: Putting Milovan Mirosevic beside Chris Birchall in central defense will not keep NY from scoring. It'd be wise to put Danny O'Rourke in that spot or Cole Grossman or even Eric Gehrig. The Crew should also move Josh Williams back to the middle along side Chad Marshall if they want to have a shot at keeping 2 goals from going past Andy Gruenebaum.
Up top; I think Jairo Arrieta is carrying a more serious injury to his ankle then he lets on. So keep an eye on that.
It's going to be a tough one for Columbus today. Legs will be live with energy after the break and temps will be cool so, if anything, this one will be fun.
You never know, maybe Jersey natives Eddie Gaven and Dilly Duka have some magic for the Crew fans today.
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