A well rested Montreal Impact team is in Columbus today to take on the Crew. Game start is around 7:30 PM EST.
GAME NOTES
-MTL: Looking for 4th Win in a row.
-MTL: 10 goals scored in last 3 Wins.
-CLB: 2 starters out for year Glauber, Gaven.
-MTL: Nesta will be serving suspension tonight.
-CLB: Defenders J Williams, C Marshall questionable.
-CLB: 1 Win from 6 at home.
-MTL: 3 Wins from 6 away.
PREDICTIONS
1. DREW EPPERLEY, WV Hooligan, writes; "Quick turnaround plus facing one of the league’s best clubs won’t help matters out for a struggling Columbus side." Epperley keeps a pretty good eye on the league and has been thinking the Crew would turn the corner. He has this one going 2:1 to Montreal.
2. BET365 has a fairly normal MLS line today, though it should be mentioned that things are changing now that we are approaching midseason. Edge to the Home side 11/8 but Away getting 2/1 (draw 9/4).
3. PICK 'EM team over at MLSsoccer.com has Montreal clean across the board. As a group the hover around low to mid 40% accuracy. That's above random but still around where they would be if they just picked the home team every week.
5. WIN DRAW WIN tells us the wiseguys are with Montreal today (betting against the line). Large stake is on a 0:1 Away win and the 'Your Vote' prediction section is leaning Montreal as well (44% MTL Win, 20% CLB).
6. ADAM JARDY on the Crew beat for the Columbus Dispatch believes a win today for the Crew will be "a tall order". Of Note: My paper today looked great, as far as color registration goes. Best it's been all year.
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MY THOUGHTS
In order for the Crew to change their season fortunes wins have to start at home. Today's opponent is as hard as it gets and the Crew haven't beat anyone above them in the table in almost a full calendar year.
At this point in the season it is safe to say that Montreal is the real deal and not the beneficiary of luck or light scheduling. They are fully capable of winning on the road and doing so with loads of goals.
Even with deteriorating results over the past three years the Crew haven't really ever entered the depths of despair over any 5 or 10 game span. In fact the Crew have only dipped below averaging 1.00 PPG once over a 10 game span in the past year and a half.
Not entering the depths of despair isn't necessarily a silver lining but does point some degree of resiliency.
There maybe a glimmer of hope in there for the Crew if they can catch a rusty Montreal team that hasn't played in a couple weeks.
Enjoy the game, weather looks fantastic.
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