Columbus Crew vs Philadelphia Union

Philadelphia Union take a trip to the Lower.com Field to take on Columbus Crew in the latest edition of their long-standing Major League Soccer rivalry.

Since a 2-0 home defeat to Los Angeles in mid-May, Columbus Crew have gone unbeaten in four straight MLS matches (W2, D2) to reduce the gap on the Eastern Conference playoff spots to three points. By contrast, they have delivered some sub-par performances in recent home league outings, picking up just one win from five (D1, L3). Curiously, each result (win/loss) in that five-game sequence saw the winner keep a clean sheet, highlighting the importance of breaking the deadlock. Adding to this sentiment, six of Columbus’ last seven top-flight home meetings with Philadelphia have seen one or both sides fail to get on the scoresheet in matches garnering under 2.5 total goals.

On the other hand, Philadelphia Union succumbed to a narrow 1-0 defeat at Chicago Fire last time out, halting an eye-catching run of nine unbeaten MLS fixtures (W2, D7). Despite having established themselves as the ‘stalemate specialists,’ the visitors head into proceedings level on points with Eastern Conference leaders Montreal. But their indifferent away league form (W3, D3, L2) does not inspire. Neither does the fact they’ve come out victorious on just one of their last six MLS travels (D3, L2). Since four of those six trips featured under 2.5 goals, including three in a row ahead of the kick-off, low scoring could be a theme in this one.