Toronto vs Columbus Crew Match Analysis and Prediction

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Two teams at the wrong end of the Eastern Conference standings will have an encounter at BMO Field on Thursday, as Toronto play host to Columbus Crew.

The hosts will be looking to secure their third successive home win, while Columbus Crew have only won one of their last nine matches on the road.

After suffering a 2-0 defeat away at New York Red Bulls, Toronto bounced back to record a 2-1 home victory against Atlanta United on Sunday.

Luiz Araujo’s 57th-minute equaliser cancelled out Jonathan Osorio’s eighth-minute opener, but the hosts regained the lead in the 78th minute through substitute Ralph Priso, who scored his first goal of the season to secure all three points.

Toronto have moved up to 11th place in the Eastern Conference, four points above bottom-placed Chicago Fire and six points behind the playoffs.

Bob Bradley’s side have also won each of their last three home meetings against Columbus Crew by an aggregate score of 6-1, so they will be confident of victory on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Columbus Crew followed up their 2-1 away victory at Atlanta with back-to-back draws against Charlotte FC and Real Salt Lake.

The Crew were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Charlotte before sharing the spoils in a goalless draw away at Salt Lake on Sunday, their fourth draw in their last eight matches.

Caleb Porter’s side are six points and seven spots worse off than at this stage last season and they currently sit level on points with Thursday’s opponents Toronto, although they boast a game in hand.

Porter will be hoping to see improvements from his team in the coming weeks, as the 2019 MSL Cup winners aim to close in on the playoff spots. They will also be looking for their third successive victory over Toronto.

Toronto vs Columbus Crew head to head

The two teams have previously met on 43 occasions, where Toronto have claimed 13 victories while Columbus have won 17, and they have drawn in 13. Toronto have scored 61 goals and conceded 62 in the process. In their last five meetings, Columbus have won two while Toronto have won three.

Toronto 3-1 Columbus Crew 28/09/20

Columbus Crew 2-4 Toronto 01/04/21

Toronto 2-0 Columbus Crew 13/05/21

Columbus Crew 2-1 Toronto 29/05/21

Columbus Crew 2-1 Toronto 12/03/22

Toronto latest home form

Toronto have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have won each of their three most recent matches. They managed to defeat Atlanta United 2-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded six.

Toronto 1-2 Cincinnati 30/04/22

Toronto 0-1 Orlando City 14/05/22

Toronto 3-2 Chicago Fire 29/05/22

Toronto 4-0 Montreal 23/06/22

Toronto 2-1 Atlanta United 26/06/22

Toronto latest away form

Toronto have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their 10 most recent matches. They lost 2-0 to New York RB in their last away game in the MLS. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded seven.

Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 Toronto 08/05/22

D.C. United 2-2 Toronto 22/05/22

HFX Wanderers 1-2 Toronto 25/05/22

Forge 1-1(P) Toronto 05/06/22

New York RB 2-0 Toronto 19/06/22

Columbus Crew latest home form

Columbus Crew have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just one of their five most recent matches. They drew 1-1 with Charlotte in their last home game in the MLS. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded six.

Columbus Crew 0-1 Nashville SC 03/04/22

Columbus Crew 0-2 Orlando City 17/04/22

Columbus Crew 3-0 D.C United 01/05/22

Columbus Crew 0-2 Los Angeles 22/05/22

Columbus Crew 1-1 Charlotte 19/06/22

Columbus Crew latest away form

Columbus Crew have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their nine most recent matches. They drew 0-0 with Real Salt Lake in their last away game in the MLS. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded five.

Sporting KC 0-0 Columbus Crew 24/04/22

New England 2-2 Columbus Crew 08/05/22

New York City 2-0 Columbus Crew 15/05/22

Atlanta United 1-2 Columbus Crew 29/05/22

Real Salt Lake 0-0 Columbus Crew 26/06/22

Toronto news

Toronto have only one injury concern at present, with midfielder Noble Okello set to remain sidelined with an abdominal issue.

Shane O’Neill will be hoping to come back into the starting lineup ahead of Chris Mavinga, while Jacob Shaffelburg will continue to battle with Luca Petrasso for a spot at left-back.

Columbus Crew news

Columbus Crew’s key playmaker Lucas Zelarayan remains doubtful with a muscle injury, so Porter is likely to stick with a midfield three of Aidan Morris, Darlington Nagbe and Sean Zawadzski.

Meanwhile, Yaw Yeboah and James Igbekeme are the two most likely candidates to support central striker Miguel Berry in attack.

Prediction and Odds

Both teams have lacked consistency so far this season but they will each consider this contest as a good opportunity to pick up maximum points and begin a strong run of form.

However, there is little to separate these two evenly-matched sides, and we predict a share of the spoils.

Odds: 1 2.15 X 2.00 2 2.30