FC Dallas vs. Columbus Crew Betting Preview – MLS, October 3, 2020

On Saturday, October 3, Dallas and Columbus meet for the very first time this year. The two sides clash at Dallas’ Toyota Stadium, with the Crew sitting ten points ahead of the Toros in the overall standings.

One defeat in five games has seen Dallas climb up the Western Conference, while one loss in seven means Columbus leads the Eastern Conference by two points. Both teams have also won three of their previous five outings, so this is destined to be a fierce contest.

I discuss the bookies’ odds before giving my FC Dallas vs. Columbus Crew prediction and betting pick.

The top online soccer betting sites have obviously been swayed by Dallas’ home advantage here. But with all due respect, the Texas club has picked up their game recently.

In all honesty, I was expecting the odds for this game to be tighter, especially when you consider that Columbus is top of the Eastern Conference with just defeats to their name this year.

I’m sure the sky-high price for the draw is bound to tempt plenty of punters, but at first glance, the odds for the away win stand out to me.

With just one win from their opening five games this season, things weren’t looking good for Dallas. However, in their previous eight outings, Luchi Gonzalez’s side has only suffered two defeats, and it feels like the Toros have finally found their feet.

Dallas kicked off their revival with a 3-1 win over Minnesota United at the end of August, with victories against Houston Dynamo, Colorado Rapids, and Sporting Kansas City following in September.

Despite only managing to take one point from their last two games, Gonzalez’s men still find themselves fourth in the Western Conference standings. Scoring goals remains a problem for the team, but if top scorer Franco Jara can add to his impressive tally of five goals in his last seven appearances, Dallas should be able to hold onto a top-half finish.

By contrast, Columbus certainly knows where the back of the net it. Only three teams have scored more Eastern Conference goals than Caleb Porter’s men this term, although it is at the other end of the pitch where the team has been most impressive.

Remarkably, the Crew has conceded just eight goals in 14 games this season – the best record across both divisions. Goalkeeper Eloy Room has kept five clean sheets in eight appearances, with backup shot-stopper Andrew Tarbell also performing admirably when called upon.

Considering the team is able to boast statistics like that, it is no surprise that Columbus is leading the way this year.

When you couple Dallas’ recent form with their home advantage in this fixture, I’m not shocked that the bookies are favoring the Toros to win this one. However, I think it makes sense to go against the bookies on this occasion.

Given that you can almost triple your money by backing the Black & Gold to claim all three points on Saturday, this bet seems like a no-brainer to me.