The first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs 2023 concludes on Sunday night when the pick of the ties get settled at Lower.com Field as the Columbus Crew take on Atlanta United in game three to see who will go to Orlando City for the Conference semi-final.
The first match of the series probably didn’t live up to expectation but the second one certainly didn’t disappoint and that waters the mouth ahead of what should be a fantastic conclusion with everything on the line.
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew made full use of the home advantage that they had in the opening game of the series to take a 1-0 lead in it courtesy of a fairly routine 2-0 victory but they were unable to land much of a blow in the second match in Atlanta where they allowed their hosts to get in front and few come back from that position. The good news for the Crew is that we are back to their home pitch for this final match of the series.
You get the feeling that if Columbus are going to make it through to the semi-final they are going to have to score goals here. That shouldn’t be a probably because no team scored more in the regular season than Columbus Crew and they are very adept at taking the game to their opponents on home soil. You just hope from a neutral point of view that the jeopardy on the game doesn’t see them go into their shell a little.
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Atlanta United
I think it is fair to say that Atlanta United will have been disappointed with their effort in the first game of the series. They will quite rightly claim they were without their heartbeat of Thiago Almada but they would still have wanted and expected to offer up more in his absence than what they did. To their credit, with their backs against the wall they came out on top with a much more energetic and Atlanta-like performance in the second game.
Atlanta are very good at home so it wasn’t a surprise that they levelled the series back at Mercedes-Benz Stadium but what was a little surprising was that they were able to play with the attacking freedom that we come to expect from them in a match where they simply had to win. The task for them now is to deliver something similar on the road but whether they try and do that or just play a more pragmatic game on the road remains to be seen.
Betting
I want to back the goals in this match but I’m not surprised that we are up at 3.5 for the goal line and that is a touch on the high side when you consider the knockout nature of the fixture. I still wouldn’t be at all if the two most entertaining sides in the league play out an absolute cracker and if this was in Atlanta I would probably take the over but I do just wonder whether Atlanta United will play a little more defensive here and try to contain Columbus Crew.
One man they will do well to contain is Cucho Hernandez, the Crew top scorer this season who has clicked into life since Lucas Zelarayan left the club in the summer. Cucho scored the first three goals that the Crew scored in this tie and in all he has five goals in his last four games and 13 in his last 10. He is on penalties for the Crew and as dynamic a threat as there is in this league. He is 5/6 to score anytime here and that looks too big to ignore.
Tips
Back C.Hernandez to score anytime for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
