MLS

(209917) CF Montreal at (209918) Columbus Crew

Montreal started the season with six away matches and while they were able to earn two wins and draw in their first three, the reality of all those road matches caught up to them with three straight losses at Chicago, DC, and Seattle by a combined 3-10 score.  Certainly ugly.  They have since played back-to-back home matches with a win and a draw over Cincinnati and Orlando, respectively.

As they head back on the road, I like them to walk away with a result from this match for a couple of reasons.  First, you can make the argument that Montreal is the most road-tested team in the league which certainly helps, but more importantly, this is another classic fade of an MLS team competing in a midweek Champions Cup match.

Columbus, the lone remaining MLS team in the Champions Cup, earned a strong 2-1 home win over Monterrey in Leg 1 of the semifinals on Wednesday.  There are few, if any, MLS teams as good at Monterrey and the match was certainly a battle, so I expect some fatigue in this letdown spot for the hosts.

Additionally, for as good a Columbus is, has been, and can be, they have played 14 matches already this season, ten MLS and four Champions Cup, and have just one single win by more than one goal, leaving them 1-9-4 against this spread.

In an almost identical spot in the last round of the Champions Cup, Columbus earned a home draw against Liga MX side Tigres in Leg 1 of their quarterfinal draw, then subsequently settled for a 1-1 home draw against DC United as -1.0 favorites.

We could be looking at déjà vu all over again here.

TAKE MONTREAL +1.0

Line Parameter: 4% to -125, 3% to -140