Midweek matchup at Crew Stadium tonight as the Houston Dynamo are in town to take on the Columbus Crew. 7:30 PM EST start.
GAME NOTES:
-CLB: Haven't beat Houston at home since GBS played.
-CLB: Won 3 of last 6 at home, +1 GD
-CLB: Freshen up: Looking like Gehrig, Finlay getting nod.
-HOU: Only 1 win in last 6 on road, -9 GD (bad)
-HOU: Missing Garcia, Jermaine Taylor to International duty.
-HOU: Sitting in playoff position.
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PREDICTIONS:
(in no particular order)
1. WINDRAWWIN.COM ... HOUSTON
The 'your votes' section is 37% Dynamo and 27% Crew this week. Close enough to call it fairly even. What pushes the lean to Houston is the Small Stake 0:1 Away side.
2. GOAL.COM ... EVEN
"Columbus has lost five of its last seven matches, and its playoff hopes are on life support as a result," says Avi Creditor. "The Crew can nary afford to drop more points at home against one of its playoff-place competitors." The reader prediction section has this one as a Draw.
3. HOME TEAM ... COLUMBUS
4. WHOSCORED.COM ... HOUSTON
"Kinnear should be able to pick his players up as they head into the race for the play-offs and they're expected to perform well against a Crew side struggling with injuries and suspensions." 1-2 Score prediction.
5. BET365 ... COLUMBUS
Tight enough to almost call it even. The Crew are at 6/5 and Dynamo 9/5 (at the time of this writing 11 AM).
6. MASSIVE REPORT ... EVEN
Wise words from Mr. Guldan today; "Bliss and the Crew hope to get that new coach bump. It's been proven to be more of a myth, but the changes on offense and defense likely will spark a more competitive team." Patrick thinks this will go down as a 1-1 draw.
7. TABLE POSITION ... HOUSTON
8. COLUMBUS DISPATCH ... COLUMBUS
Man on the Crew beat Adam Jardy thinks that new coach Brian Bliss will give the team a jolt. He also makes note of another competitive advantage, "The Dynamo has had one fewer day of rest, and it could be a long evening for the visitors." Check out Jardy's commentary on his Dispatch blog "Covering the Crew." Excellent.
9. WVHOOLIGAN.COM ... --
(no preview yet, will update)
10. MLSSOCCER.COM ... --
(no prediction yet, will update)
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MY THOUGHTS:
Houston is going to be missing a couple key guys but Kinnear always seems to be able to do just enough once the calendar turns to fall. Tonight's game isn't probably seen as a must win to him but certainly important.
The Crew, on the other hand, are in the middle of a gigantic organizational adjustment. Hard not to think this makes this either a huge 3-0 kind of Crew win or a 0-5 horror show.
I'm never quite comfortable with Houston teams. They just seem to do enough to get into the playoffs and like to draw when in town. They don't need this game, per say, but they will probably go for the draw early if the Crew prove to be stubborn in the first 30 minutes.
Nice and cool today in Columbus. Probably in the 60s by kickoff and clear skys. Has the makings of a beautiful mid-western sunset, if nothing else. Enjoy.
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