One Week Since Odds Opened, Columbus Crew’s MLS Cup Odds Have Already Shortened from 80-1 to 40-1

• After missing the playoffs in 2019, the Columbus Crew have seen their odds halved over the last week
• The team has enjoyed a fruitful off-season, headed by the acquisitions of former Liga MX attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and former Atlanta United midfielder Darlington Nagbe
• Columbus was also able to retain much of its starting 11 from 2019

The 2020 Major League Soccer season doesn’t begin in earnest until the end of the month, but some of the moves being made by the Columbus Crew are certainly making bookmakers sit up and take notice.

Columbus saw its run of two consecutive postseason appearances come to an end thanks to a somewhat injury-blighted 2019 campaign, but is determined to bounce back in 2020 with a second season under the leadership of MLS Cup-winning head coach, Caleb Porter. The return to full fitness of the likes of Milton Valenzuela, who missed the entire 2019 campaign with a torn ACL, should have a positive effect on results, as will a number of new acquisitions.

Consequently, the Crew have seen their MLS Cup odds improve dramatically, being slashed from +8000 to +4000 in little over a week since odds opened.

Odds to Win 2020 MLS Cup

Odds taken on Feb. 6

Fresh Faces

One of the biggest reasons for optimism in Ohio is the presence of a couple of high-priced acquisitions. Argentine midfielder Lucas Zelarayan has arrived for a transfer fee reportedly north of $7-million, making it the highest such fee in club history.

The 27-year-old is coming off a four-year run at Mexico’s Tigres UANL, where he scored 23 goals and added 14 assists during that time, and will be the man tasked with replacing outgoing playmaker Federico Higuain.

#FutMexNation Here was Lucas Zelarayan's incredible GOLAZO that restored Tigres' lead. #LigaMXEng #J3CL2017 pic.twitter.com/Z0vQqivEYo

— Fut Mex Nation (@FutMexNation) January 22, 2017

The other new face is that of Darlington Nagbe, a US international midfielder who has previously played under Porter at both the University of Akron and in Portland. The two-time MLS Cup winner has 30 goals in his nine-year MLS career, and while not prolific, will be relied upon to provide an effective midfield partner to Zelarayan.

"Darlington Nagbe is the most skilled American midfielder in the game."@AlexiLalas sounds off on one of the most polarizing, under-appreciated players in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/rqB9EJDU6P

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 4, 2019

The two should pair well with the likes of fellow attacking midfielder Pedro Santos, who had 11 goals last term, and all three should be a real boost to striker Gyasi Zardes, who bagged 13 as the team’s main goal scorer.

Finishing Strong

After a bright start to last season, where the team took 13 points from a possible 18 over the first six games, the season went downhill fast.

The Crew then lost 13 of its next 15 matches to play its way out of playoff contention. But rather than simply mail it in for the rest of the season, head coach Porter managed to right the ship somewhat in his first year at the helm. As a result,  Columbus lost only two of its last 13 fixtures and didn’t concede more than two goals in any game over that spell.

Porter will be looking to carry that form into 2020. The team appears to be defensively solid, even with the loss of goalkeeper Zack Steffen to Manchester City last summer. The defensive core of Josh Williams, Harrison Afful and Waylon Francis have each played more than 100 times in MLS.

Who’s ready to see Milton Valenzuela back in 🖤&💛 🙋‍♂️🙋 // #CrewSC pic.twitter.com/1lOF8dAVwP

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) December 21, 2018

The return to full fitness of Valenzuela and the addition of Dutch center-back Vito Wormgoor should only help improve the defensive stability of that core, which conceded just 47 goals in 2019 – fewer than four of the seven Eastern Conference teams that made the playoffs.

Reason for Hope

The results of the off-season makeover should see Columbus back into the playoffs for the fourth time in six years. Barring injury – which is always a great equalizer in a tight salary cap league – the work that Porter put in in his first season in Ohio should reap further dividends in 2020, with the added talent proving to be the difference-maker.

According to @Pellomaldonado, the sale of Lucas Zelarayán to Columbus is complete.

The current record fee paid by Columbus is $2.2m. This will likely quadruple that figure. Yet another MLS club stepping into the new era of MLS. #Crew96 pic.twitter.com/0SyFwiEAQZ

— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) December 18, 2019

How quickly and well Zelarayan settles in will likely be the difference between Columbus being a playoff team or a championship-contending team, and if he comes as billed, don’t rule out an MLS Cup parade.