This week’s match-up between the Columbus Crew and Sporting Kansas City offers up the two leading teams in the East duking it out, as well as an intriguing clash of styles—Sporting KC’s high press 4-3-3 against a heavy possession oriented Columbus Crew side. Will Sporting KC’s high press be able to disrupt the rhythm of a team in Columbus which makes a living spending so much time on the ball, or will Higuaín and the Crew be able to exploit the inevitable spaces in behind which such a high pressure system creates. Both teams are coming off disappointing results, Sporting KC losing to the New England Revolution, and the Columbus Crew tieing the Red Bulls 1-1 in Crew Stadium last Saturday. Our experts weighed in with their picks.
Sporting KC vs Columbus Crew
Asad Asif (@asadthephysicis) – Red Bulls Correspondent
The Crew are coming off a streak of poor performances and have dropped major points after coming out of the gates with a bang. To make matters worse, Sporting Kansas City is in the middle of a campaign to prove that they are an MLS powerhouse. Expect SKC to absolutely tear up the field against a side low on confidence, and look to Zusi and the gang to punish a Columbus backline that fumbled the ball multiple times last week against New York. Expect Higuaín and Arrieta to take potshots on counter attacks, but with the Crew’s lack of height, SKC’s backline should have an absolute field. Sporting Kansas City 3 Columbus Crew 0
Rog Cleaves (@TheCleavesiest) – Sounders Correspondent
Sure to be an amazing match, Columbus and Kansas City won’t want to sit back and settle for a tie. Higuaín has been downright scary this season and has proved time and time again to be the important cog in the center of the pitch for the Crew, but Sporting won’t lie down. They only have Matt Besler and Graham Zusi for maybe one or two more games before they join the US National Team in Northern California, so these will be points that they won’t want to drop. I just don’t see how Columbus will be able to break through the defensive line and doubt that they will be able to pull out a win. Sporting Kansas City 2 Columbus Crew 0.
Sean Steffen (@SeanSteffen)– Galaxy Correspondent
KC may be the most cross happy team in the league, which, in theory, doesn’t bode well for a team as short as Columbus. I say “in theory” because the same was true when Columbus traveled to San Jose to face another cross happy team, the San Jose Earthquakes, and managed to hold them to a single goal and a tie. In my opinion, the chances of Columbus winning this game are slim to none. Quite simply, SKC plays soccer at a completely different level than Columbus, and the results reflect that. Columbus has had a very weak schedule, and for the most part, has managed to get their points by beating teams they were supposed to beat (keeping in mind Seattle’s form when they played them). If you consider the fact that they could only manage a tie against New York and DC at home, not to mention that embarrassing home loss to a Toronto team riddled with injuries, and it’s clear that this team is a lot less impressive than their place in the table suggests. Kansas City, on the other hand, has had a much tougher schedule, having already played arguably the two best teams in MLS right now, Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas. Both games were at home and both games resulted in a tie. But not all ties are created equal. Home ties against New York and DC hardly compare to the far more impressive set of home ties against Salt Lake and Dallas. For this reason, you should ignore how close these teams are in the table because KC is simply a tier above Columbus in terms of quality. SKC wins 2-0
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