Columbus Crew vs Seattle Sounders FC Prediction, 12/12/2020 MLS Cup Pick, Tips and Odds

by Tony Sink - 12/9/2020

Game: Columbus Crew vs Seattle Sounders FC

Date: Saturday, December 12, 2020

Location: MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, OH

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Columbus (+150) Seattle (+170)

Pedro Santos and the Columbus Crew play the Seattle Sounders FC at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday in the MLS Cup. The goalies protecting the net are Eloy Room for the Columbus Crew and Stefan Frei for the Seattle Sounders FC. The Sounders are priced at +170 while the Crew are at +150. The O/U has been set at 2.5.

The Seattle Sounders advanced to the MLS Cup Finals after claiming their 4th conference championship in the last 5 years. They did this by defeating FC Dallas in the first round of the playoffs and then Minnesota United on Monday by a score of 3-2. The Columbus Crew reached the MLS Cup by first defeating Nashville SC 2-0 and then following that up with a conference championship win over the New England Revolution by a score of 1-0. The Crew get to host the defending champions in the MLS Cup Championship.

Columbus controls possession for 52.2% of matches while they have success at dribbling 66.5% of the time (1st in MLS). They have attempted 243 shots at the opposition with 88 on target, which means they have a 36.2% SOT percentage. Columbus Crew as a team have earned 34 goals this season, which ranks them 8th in the league. Their players have been on the receiving end of 9,388 passes from teammates on 10,800 attempts for the season, which gives them a receiving percentage of 86.9%.

Pedro Santos is a player you are going to want to keep your eye on for Columbus. He has 36 assists while tallying 50 yellow cards thus far in his career. Santos has had a starting assignment in 169 matchups thus far in his career while he scores 0.25 goals per 90 mins. The forward who hails from Portugal has earned 41 goals in 14,747 minutes played. Someone else who should impact this game is Gyasi Zardes, the forward who hails from the United States. He has helped on a goal 22 times in his pro soccer career and he has scored 79 goals. Zardes has played 17,851 mins in 198 career starts and has been given a total of 12 yellow card cautions. He averages 0.40 goals per 90 minutes thus far in his career.

The guy who is expected to defend the goal for Columbus Crew will be Eloy Room. Room has seen the field for 17,481 minutes and has earned 667 saves during his MLS career. His GA/90 is 1.37 (266 goals allowed) and he has a save % of .726. The keeper from the Netherlands has faced 928 shots sent in his direction in 192 career starts. Room (77-51-66 mark in his career) has 43 clean sheets, which leaves him with a 22.4% clean sheet percentage.

The Sounders have had success dribbling 63.9% of the time on the campaign while earning 42 goals. They have a receiving percentage of 87.7% while they control possession of the ball 54.5% of the time. Seattle has 11,668 targets on the year (3rd in the league) and they have 10,235 successful received passes. They have connected on 33.6% of their shots on target out of 277 shots.

Nicolas Lodeiro will be someone to watch for Seattle Sounders FC. He scores 0.26 goals per 90 and has started 155 contests in his professional soccer career. The midfielder who is from Uruguay has 14,221 minutes and he has scored 41 goals. He has totaled 27 yellow cards so far in his career and has assisted a teammate on a goal 51 times. Be sure to keep an eye out for Jordan Morris, the forward who hails from the United States. He has 35 goals during his career while helping a teammate on a goal 18 times. Morris has been handed 3 yellow cards in 8,394 mins (96 starts). His goals per 90 average thus far in his career is 0.38.

Stefan Frei will reside in front of the net for the Sounders. So far in his career, Frei has conceded 391 goals while he has accumulated 986 saves in 301 starting assignments. He has allowed 1.30 goals per 90 mins while earning a mark of 127-71-102. He has earned a save % of .729 and his shutout rate is 27.2%. Frei has earned 82 clean sheets while seeing 1,367 shots against him in 27,066 minutes in his career.

Who will win tonight's MLS game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Columbus (+150)

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Pick:	KANSAS CITY CHIEFS -5.5
Start:	December 15, 2024 @ 1:00 PM
Expert:	Doc's Sports

Analysis:

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #465 Kansas City Chiefs -5.5 over Cleveland Browns (1p.m., Sunday, December 15 CBS) The Chiefs keep winning games and sooner or later one of those wins will come by a comfortable margin. I look for that to be this Sunday against a Browns team that is just playing out the string. Cleveland currently sits at 3- 10 and will enter this game having lost 4 of their last 5 games. Their only win came against Pittsburgh in a snow game on a short week. All 4 of those losses by the Browns have come over the posted number for this game. Kansas City is better on both sides of the football, and I just do not see the Browns offense keeping pace. Do not miss out on Doc’s Sports Weekend card featuring top plays in basketball, football, and hockey. We will feature our World-Famous Nonconference Game of the Year in College Basketball on Saturday. This game has won 13 of the 15 years it has been in existence and it is a must have for any big game hunter. Read More Read Less

Columbus Crew vs Seattle Sounders FC Prediction, 12/12/2020 MLS Cup Pick, Tips and Odds

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