New York City FC prepare to take on Columbus Crew at the Yankee Stadium on Saturday looking to pick up a third consecutive victory.
Meanwhile, the away side are aiming to stretch their six-game unbeaten streak further and maintain their lead over the hosts on the log.
Match preview
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New York City FC followed up a narrow 1-0 win over CF Montreal on Thursday with a more comprehensive 5-0 demolition of Orlando City SC on Sunday.
After a relatively quiet first half where Jesus Medina's opener proved to be the only moment of note, the game sprung into life in the second 45 minutes as goals from Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, Maxi Moralez, Malte Amundsen and Valentin Castellanos secured a convincing win for Ronny Deila's men.
With 23 points from a possible 42, the Pigeons have moved up into sixth place on the Eastern Conference standings and are just two points off second-placed Nashville SC.
Their goal fest last time out means that only league leaders New England Revolution and Kansas City have found the back of the net on more occasions than the Bronx-based club.
Saturday's hosts seek to turn a corner, as they have struggled in games against their visitors of late, losing each of the last three meetings by a combined of 7-3.
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Columbus Crew saw off the threat of Atlanta United courtesy of a 1-0 win when the sides faced off at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday.
After a goalless opening period, Jonathan Mensah popped up with the game-winner just before the halfway point of the second half to deliver the goods for Caleb Porter's men.
Despite possessing the best defensive record in the East, the Crew are only in fifth position, majorly due to their inadequacies at the other end.
Saturday's visitors have scored just 16 goals in 15 games to date, a tally which is currently surpassed by all but two teams in the division.
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Team News
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Sean Johnson, James Sands and Gedion Zelalem are representing the United States at the ongoing Gold Cup and are unavailable for the home side.
Brazilian forward Heber continues his spell on the treatment table after picking up a knee injury which has ruled him out of action for the past ten months.
Columbus Crew are also without the services of some first-team players due to national team involvement, with Liam Fraser and Gyasi Zardes currently in action for Canada and the USA respectively.
Milton Valenzuela is ruled out with a thigh injury, while 19-year-old Aidan Morris remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Josh Williams has missed eight of his side's 15 league outings this term, but the American defender could make his return to action in the coming weeks.
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Barraza; Tinnerholm, Channot, Callens, Thorarinsson; Morales, Acevedo, Medina; Moralez, Tajouri, Castellanos
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Room; Santos, Mensah, Keita, Abdul-Salaam; Molino, Nagbe, Hairston, Matan; Hurtado, Wright-Phillips
We say: New York City FC 2-0 Columbus Crew
The visitors have struggled on the offensive end away from home all-season long, and we can see that trend continuing here. We are backing the hosts to grab all three points while also keeping a clean sheet en route.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a New York City FC win with a probability of 66.38%. A draw had a probability of 20.1% and a win for Columbus Crew had a probability of 13.54%.
The most likely scoreline for a New York City FC win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.29%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.09%) and 2-1 (9.7%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.54%), while for a Columbus Crew win it was 0-1 (4.7%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 3.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that New York City FC would win this match.
