Charlotte FC and the Columbus Crew meet at Bank of America Stadium in the early hours of Sunday morning with five points separating them in the Eastern Conference, and the focus is firmly on goals. Greg MacLean is backing that trend to keep running, after saying he had made it four winners from his last five BOTD columns at Ibrox on Thursday.
The search interest around Columbus Vs Charlotte is easy to explain. Charlotte have scored 29 goals across their opening 18 MLS contests, with 20 of those coming at home, while they have been blanked only four times all season and have scored multiple goals in six of their 10 home matches. The Columbus Crew bring similar firepower, with 26 goals from their opening 18 MLS matches and 14 of those scored on the road.
That blend of home strength and away threat is why the betting case has settled on BTTS and Over 2.5 Goals. Charlotte have seen both teams score and over 2.5 goals land in 10 of their previous 14 MLS encounters, and the same combination has come through in six of their last eight home matches. The Columbus Crew have been even more reliable in that direction on their travels, where both teams to score has landed in eight of their opening nine road trips and Over 2.5 Goals has done the same.
The numbers also point to why this is more than a loose hunch. Charlotte have kept just three clean sheets in the MLS this term, while the Columbus Crew have yet to register a clean sheet in away MLS matches this campaign and have shipped two or more goals in seven of their nine away matches. At the other end, the Crew have failed to score in only one of their last 14 MLS contests and have scored two or more goals in eight of those 14, which keeps the pressure on a Charlotte side that cannot lean on shutouts to control the game.
MacLean’s view is straightforward: the pattern should keep going in North Carolina on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. The opening nine road trips for the Columbus Crew in the MLS have averaged 3.67 goals per game, and that is the kind of number that turns a routine league fixture into a live betting play. If Charlotte and the Crew match their recent trends, the only real surprise would be a quiet night.
