Columbus Crew Sc Clb vs Sporting Kansas City Kc Picks and Predictions June 22nd 2024

Crew Relieved to Be Back Home to Face Sporting KC

The Columbus Crew will try to get back to winning ways on two fronts when they host struggling Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.

Columbus Crew’s Recent Performance

A 2-1 loss at Inter Miami on Wednesday snapped a four-match winning streak, ending the Crew’s five-match road trip on a down note. Despite Miami being without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez due to Copa America, the Crew fell behind 2-0, including a goal off a corner kick.

“We have grown a lot regarding these kinds of (away) games, i would have preferred to concede in another way. This is a positive, what we’ve done the last few games that we’ve had. It could have been better in terms of the way we did this game.”

Wilfried Nancy

Since their last home game on May 11 against FC Cincinnati, the Crew have played five MLS road games as well as the CONCACAF Champions Cup final in Mexico against CF Pachuca. That didn’t end well for Columbus, with a 2-1 misfortune that finished a 18-match standard season home unbeaten streak and a 27-match unbeaten stretch in Columbus in all contests.

Sporting Kansas City’s Struggles

Sporting Kansas City (3-11-5, 14 points) has lost two straight and nine of their last ten matches. They are 1-10-2 in the past 13 matches, sitting 13th in the Western Conference. A comeback against Real Salt Lake fell short on Wednesday in a 4-3 defeat to the conference leaders.

“Of course, we’re really frustrated because we keep pushing hard all the time and every time we’re down, we keep coming back, we have just got to keep going and keep it up and I think it’s going to come. We have just got to work harder in training and that’s it.”

Zorhan Bassong

Key Players and Tactical Insights

Cucho Hernandez returned from injury for the Pachuca match and leads Columbus with six goals in MLS competition. His presence will be crucial as the Crew play four of their next six matches at home, where they hope to make up ground in the Eastern Conference. They are currently sixth in points but have at least two matches in hand on every team in front of them due to their Champions Cup schedule. They rank third in points per match (1.69).

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Conclusion

As the Columbus Crew prepare to host Sporting Kansas City, they aim to leverage their home advantage and bounce back from their recent setbacks. Meanwhile, Sporting Kansas City will look to end their dismal run and find some form of redemption. Both teams are eager for a win, making this a critical match for both sides.