Columbus Crew vs Chicago Fire Predictions, MLS Picks, Betting Tips 8/20/2020

by Guy Bruhn - 8/19/2020

Game: Columbus Crew vs Chicago Fire

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2020

Location: MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, OH

TV: WGN-TV

Odds/Point Spread: Columbus (+109) Chicago (+246)

Robert Beric and the Columbus Crew (4-1-0, 1st in the Eastern Conference) play the Chicago Fire (1-1-3, 11th in the Eastern Conference) at MAPFRE Stadium on Thursday. The goalkeepers who are expected to start will be Andrew Tarbell for the Columbus Crew and Kenneth Kronholm for the Chicago Fire. The odds on this game have the Crew coming in at +109 and the Fire are at +246. The total has been set at 2.75.

The Crew have earned 9 goals for the year, which ranks them 6th in the league. They have attempted 53 shots at their opponents with 21 on target, which is a 39.6% SOT percentage. Columbus has controlled possession for 53% of games while successfully dribbling 72.5% of the time (1st in Major League Soccer). They have caught 2,192 passes on 2,468 targets on the campaign, which makes their receiving percentage 88.8%.

Darlington Nagbe is one guy you are going to want to keep your eye on for the Crew. He has 29 assists while earning 7 yellow card warnings in his MLS career. Nagbe has been given a starting assignment in 263 contests in his MLS career while scoring 0.12 goals per 90 minutes. The midfielder who is from the United States has earned 29 goals (74th among active MLS players) in 22,683 minutes. One more player who could decide who wins is Gyasi Zardes, the forward who is from the United States. He has assisted a teammate on a goal 18 times so far in his pro soccer career and he has scored 71 goals. Zardes has totaled 16,539 minutes in 183 career starts and has been handed 11 yellow card cautions. He is currently averaging 0.39 G/90 during his MLS career (49th among active players).

The man who will defend the goal for Columbus will be Andrew Tarbell. Tarbell has defended the goal for a total of 4,184 minutes and has accumulated 145 saves during his MLS career. His goals against per 90 mins is 1.98 (92 total goals allowed) and his save % is .614. The goalkeeper from the United States has seen 236 shots attempted at him in 47 starting assignments. Tarbell (12-10-24 mark during his career) has accumulated 5 clean sheets, which gives him a 10.6% shutout percentage.

The Fire have successfully dribbled 71.9% of the time on the season while earning 4 goals. They hold a receiving percentage of 84.6% while controlling possession of the ball 47.8% of the time. Chicago has 2,113 pass targets for the year (16th in the league) with 1,787 completed passes. They have been able to hit on 28.2% of their shots out of 71 shots.

Robert Beric should provide a lift for Chicago. He currently averages 0.55 goals per 90 mins and has been a starter in 280 matches thus far in his career. The forward who is from Slovenia has been on the pitch for 11,118 mins while he has scored 68 goals (20th among active MLS players). He has tallied 17 yellow cards in his career and has helped on a goal 14 times. You should also keep an eye on Przemyslaw Frankowski, the defender who is from Poland. Frankowski has been given a total of 19 yellow cards in 14,652 minutes played (166 starts). His goals per 90 average in his pro soccer career is 0.19 (135th among active players). He has earned 31 goals during his MLS career while assisting on a goal 20 times.

Kenneth Kronholm will look after the net for the Fire. So far in his career, Kronholm has surrendered 229 goals while he has racked up 659 stops in 198 starting assignments. He has given up 1.16 goals per 90 minutes while he holds a mark of 77-67-54. He is the owner of a save % of .750 and his clean sheet rate is currently 31.8%. Kronholm has accumulated 63 clean sheets while he has defended 879 shots attempted against him in 17,820 career minutes.

Who will win tonight's MLS game ATS?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Chicago (+246)

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Columbus Crew vs Chicago Fire Predictions, MLS Picks, Betting Tips 8/20/2020

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