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Columbus Crew will host Sporting Kansas City at the Lower.com Field on Friday in the last 32 of the 2024 Leagues Cup campaign. The home side received a bye to the knockout stages of the Leagues Cup due to their MLS Cup triumph last year and will be looking to open their cup campaign with a win.
They were beaten 2-1 by Atlanta United in their last competitive outing before picking up an impressive 4-1 victory over Premier League side Aston Villa in a mid-season friendly last month. They will head into the weekend clash full of confidence.
Sporting Kansas City, meanwhile, faced Chicago Fire in their tournament opener last week, picking up a 2-1 win via goals from Robert Castellanos and William Agada. They were then beaten 2-1 by CD Toluca in their second game but ultimately advanced from their group, three points behind the Mexican outfit at the top of the pile.
They were knocked out at this stage of the Leagues Cup last season after losing 4-1 to Toluca and will hope they can find better luck this year.
Columbus Crew vs Sporting Kansas City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 62 meetings between Columbus and Kansas City. The hosts have won 25 of those games while the visitors have won one fewer. There have been 13 draws between the two teams.
- The hosts are undefeated in their last three games in this fixture and have lost just one of their last six.
- The visitors have failed to score any goals in four of their last five games in this fixture.
- Kansas City are without a clean sheet in their last eight games across all competitions.
Columbus Crew vs Sporting Kansas City Prediction
Columbus' latest result in competitive action ended a six-game unbeaten streak and they will be looking to bounce back here. They are undefeated in their last five home games and will head into the weekend clash as clear favorites.
Kansas City have won just one of their last four games after winning four of their previous five. They have lost all but one of their last nine games on the road and could see defeat here as well.
Prediction: Columbus Crew 2-0 Sporting Kansas City
Columbus Crew vs Sporting Kansas City Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Columbus Crew to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Five of the last six matches between the two teams have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of their last six matchups)
