Columbus Crew vs Houston Dynamo Prediction: There's no way out for Houston Dynamo.

Columbus Crew take on Houston Dynamo in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League round of 16 clash. The Crew did a good job in the first leg by beating Houston Dynamo 1-0, now they hold a crucial advantage ahead of the return leg.

With the Columbus Crew playing at their very best at the moment, there's little chance for Houston Dynamo. But the Houston Dynamo fans hope miracles still happen.

Columbus Crew

A 1-0 advantage is a good advantage for The Columbus Crew ahead of the return leg. But as they have a job to defend the advantage in the remaining 90 minutes of the return leg. At the moment, Columbus Crew will rather go all out to put the result beyond doubt than defend the narrow advantage.

In terms of current form, Columbus Crew are highly commendable. They have played only 4 games this season in all competitions and they got 3 wins and 1 draw. And their last game ended in a 2-1 win over Chicago Fire in the 3rd game of the MLS season.

Columbus Crew played really well in the first leg and Alexandru Mâtan’s late goal helped The Crew secure the 1-0 win. According to stats, Columbus Crew were also better than Houston Dynamo. They had 52% possession, 6 shots on target and they created 2 big chances. They also had 2 counter attacks and hit the woodwork twice during the game.

Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy is a huge fan of the 3-4-2-1 formation and he's been getting the right results so far. He deployed the 3-4-2-1 system in the first leg and he has no reason to make any changes to the setup ahead of the second leg. Cucho Hernandez was brought on to replace Marino Hinestroza in the 46th minute of the first leg but he played full time in the top 9 position against Chicago Fire. Wilfried Nancy may apply a similar approach and bring the striker from the bench in the second leg.

Houston Dynamo

Houston Dynamo have lost their last 2 matches in a row and that calls for a worry. They lost 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls in the domestic league game before losing 1-0 to The Columbus Crew in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League. Losing for the third time in a row will be a huge blow for the team's confidence, so it's important they fight for a positive result against Columbus Crew in this game.

Houston Dynamo were quite unfortunate to lose the first game so late in the game despite playing to finish the game as a draw. Now they come into this return leg with a tough job on their hands. And with the current results, they might just be on their way out of the competition. 

The Houston Dynamo manager Ben Olsen set up the team to play a 4-3-3 formation and with current results going the other way, he might be on course for a complete change to the setup. The Houston Dynamo players were far from decisive in the first leg as statistics shows. They had 4 shots on target and they also created 2 big chances during the game. But they were unable to score. 

Gabriel Segal looked lost for most parts of the first leg and he was later replaced by Sebastian Kowalczyk, who made very little impact himself on the pitch. If Houston Dynamo intends to win the game, then there's definitely a need for the players to step up.

Head to Head

In the last 20 meetings, Columbus Crew has won 8 matches, while Houston Dynamo has won 6 and they drew 6 matches.

Analysis and Predictions

There's nothing Houston Dynamo can do to change the inevitable outcome. The difference in quality between both clubs is quite significant at the moment and Columbus Crew are playing with so much confidence. With the fans behind them, they will be unstoppable.

The h2h analysis shows there were less than 2.5 goals scored in 5 of the last 6 meetings and also less than 4.5 cards in 7 of the last 9 meetings.

• Columbus Crew to Win or Draw and Under 3.5 Goals at 1.68 Odds
• Columbus Crew to Win or Draw and Under 3.5 Goals at 1.68 Odds
• Columbus Crew to Win 2-0 at 8.00 Odds