The Columbus Crew continue their quest to become the second MLS team in as many years to reach the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup on Wednesday, when they travel to Monterrey for the second leg of the semifinals.
The reigning MLS Cup champions won the first leg 2-1, but the narrow margin means they have it all to play for against one of the competition’s most acclaimed sides — Monterrey have won the title five times, most recently in 2021.
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, May 1 | Time: 10:15 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadio BBVA — Guadalupe, Mexico
- TV: FS1 | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Monterrey -170; Draw +330; Columbus Crew +450
How they got here
Monterrey: Things have been fairly straightforward for Monterrey in this edition of the Champions Cup. They beat Guatemala’s Comunicaciones 7-1 in round one and then two MLS sides before meeting the Crew — a 3-1 win over FC Cincinnati in the round of 16 and a 5-2 win over Inter Miami in the quarterfinals. American forward Brandon Vazquez has been their top goalscorer in the competition with four goals, including one in the second leg against Miami. They played a fairly even match against the Crew at Lower.com Field last week despite coming out with a one-goal disadvantage, which could be encouraging on home turf.
Columbus Crew: The Crew have already made their deepest-ever run in the competition but no doubt have their sights set on going at least one step further — and perhaps going all the way. Things have been much tighter for them than it has for Monterrey, though, partially due to the fact that the Champions Cup kicked off just as the MLS season did. They beat the Houston Dynamo 2-1 in the round of 16 before advancing on penalties against Tigres in the quarterfinals, and again face another closely contested matchup on Wednesday. The first leg against Monterrey ultimately favored them — they out-possessed, outshot and out-passed the opposition — but the big question for them is if they can do so again away from home.
Prediction
Both teams enter the matchup in somewhat inconsistent form but expect another competitive matchup that could swing either way. Monterrey likely have the edge because of the home field advantage, but this one could require extra time to settle the score. Pick: Monterrey 2, Columbus Crew 0 (after extra time)
