New York City FC vs Columbus Crew prediction, preview, team news and more | MLS 2021
Searching for a third straight victory in the MLS, New York City FC take on Columbus Crew at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
The visitors head into the game on a six-game unbeaten run and will be aiming to keep the juggernaut rolling.
New York City made it two wins from two games on Sunday when they secured an emphatic 5-0 victory over Orlando City SC.
In a one-sided affair, five different players were on target as New York City ran riot to claim their seventh win of the season.
This followed last Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over CF Montreal, which brought an end to their two-game losing streak.
After turning a corner in the past two weeks, Ronny Deila’s men have risen to sixth place in the Eastern Conference table, one point and one place below Saturday’s visitors.
Columbus Crew, on the other hand, returned to winning ways last time out as they claimed a narrow 1-0 victory away to Atlanta United.
Despite being on the back foot for most of the game, Jonathan Mensah opened his season’s account in the 65th minute to hand the Crew all three points.
With four draws and one win in their previous five games, the result extended Caleb Porter’s side’s unbeaten streak to six. Their last defeat came back in June when they fell to a 1-0 loss away to Philadelphia Union.
New York City FC vs Columbus Crew Head-To-Head
Columbus Crew head into Saturday’s encounter as the superior side in the fixture, claiming eight wins from their last 18 games against New York City. The hosts have picked up six wins, while four games have ended all square.
New York City FC Form Guide: W-W-L-L-W
Columbus Crew Form Guide: W-D-W-D-D
New York City FC vs Columbus Crew Team News
New York City FC
The hosts will be without the services of Gedion Zelalem and Heber, who have been sidelined through knee and ACL injuries. Sean Johnson and James Sands are away on international duties with the US in the Gold Cup.
Injuries: Gedion Zelalem, Heber
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Sean Johnson, James Sands
Columbus Crew
The visitors remain without Josh Williams, Milton Valenzuela, Aidan Morris, Vito Wormgoor, and Artur, who are all nursing injuries. Gyasi Zardes, Luis Diaz and Liam Fraser are away on international duty.
Injured: Josh Williams, Milton Valenzuela, Aidan Morris, Vito Wormgoor, Artur
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Gyasi Zardes, Luis Diaz, Liam Fraser
New York City FC vs Columbus Crew Predicted XI
New York City FC Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Luis Barraza; Gudmundur Thorarinsson, Maxime Chanot, Alexander Callens, Anton Tinnerholm; Nicolas Acevedo, Keaton Parks; Maximiliano Moralez, Jesus Medina, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi; Valentin Castellanos
Columbus Crew Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Eloy Room; Harrison Afful, Jonathan Mensah, Aboubacar Keita, Waylon Francis; Darlington Nagbe, Perry Kitchen; Derrick Etienne Junior, Lucas Zelarayán, Pedro Santos; Bradley Wright-Phillips
New York City FC vs Columbus Crew Prediction
Columbus Crew have performed brilliantly against New York City FC in their recent meetings, claiming wins in each of their last three encounters. While the hosts have been rejuvenated lately, we predict Columbus Crew will continue their impressive run of results in this fixture and claim another win.
Prediction: New York City FC 1-2 Columbus Crew
Also See: Fabrizio Romano's Transfer Roundup: Arsenal's plans for midfield, Update on Barcelona's plans for Griezmann and more