Columbus Crew vs Chicago Fire Prediction: Chicago Fire to revert to 4-2-3-1 after the gamble against FC Cincinnati.

Columbus Crew are back in game number 3 and their opponent is Chicago Fire . The Crew had a positive start to the campaign with a win and a draw in the first 2 games and they are looking like a decent team already. They also had a strong start to the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, beating Houston Dynamo in the first leg of the round 16 tie.

Chicago Fire had a draw on the opening day of the season and they were hoping to build upon that result in the next game. Instead they lost to FC Cincinnati in the second game. Now they come into the third with hope to get their first win and settle the anxiety building around the team already.

The resilience of the Columbus Crew has to be lauded after such a start to the campaign. They are not one for too many goals, but they have the ability to hold onto narrow advantages and get the win at the end. They had just 1 win in the opening 2 games of the campaign, against Atlanta United on the opening day and then they went on to play a 1-1 draw with Minnesota United away from home.

It's been quite clear how Wilfried Nancy wants his team to play this season and if they can maintain such consistency they will be a force to reckon with this season. He prefers the 3-4-2-1 formation and the team has been playing their best in that setup. 

The ability of the Crew team to maintain a compact shape and frustrate the opposition has been their strongest asset so far. In the game against Atlanta United and Minnesota United, both oppositions only managed to create 1 big chance throughout the game because of the way the Columbus Crew is structured. And hence they have been able to maintain a good record defensively.

However, one improvement Wilfried Nancy will hope to see in the team is more involvement at the attacking end of the pitch. Cucho Hernandez has been in fine form so far but he'll need to be more clinical with the opportunities created. He tends to squander more scoring opportunities than he converts and that might be costly for the team.

Chicago Fire have all the odds stacked against them ahead of this trip to face Columbus Crew. They are not only struggling at the moment, but the opposition is playing well and they will also have the advantage of playing at home. 

After a draw and a defeat in the first 2 games of the season, it sends a definite message to the coaching crew that a change is needed immediately.

The 2-2 draw against Philadelphia Union was probably not a poor result considering that Philadelphia Union are a top team and they were playing at home. And Chicago Fire managed to match them in several areas of the game. But in the next game, Chicago Fire came up against Cincinnati FC with a different setup and this time they lined up in a 4-3-3 formation as opposed to the 4-2-3-1 in the first game. And from the stats of the game, Chicago Fire clearly struggled to dominate the game against Cincinnati and the game ended in a defeat.

Chicago Fire coach Frank Klopas will most likely take the fall for the loss to FC Cincinnati for changing the setup of the team. And he's most likely going to revert to the 4-2-3-1 formation against Columbus Crew. 

The h2h record shows that in the last 20 meetings between both clubs, Columbus Crew won 8 matches, while Chicago Fire won 4 matches and 8 matches ended in a draw.

It has to be down to the tactical setup of both managers. Columbus Crew will be compact as usual and try to make life difficult for the Chicago Fire attackers. The Chicago Fire team is going to struggle to play their game against the Columbus Crew, so they'd better brace for the worst.

According to the h2h, Columbus Crew are unbeaten in the last 5 meetings and there's been less than 10.5 corners in 6 of the last 7 meetings.

• Columbus Crew to Win or Draw and Under 3.5 Goals at 1.87 Odds
• Columbus Crew to Win or Draw and Under 3.5 Goals at 1.87 Odds
• Columbus Crew to Win 2-1 at 8.50 Odds