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CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals Leg 2 Odds & Picks: Monterrey vs Columbus & Club America vs Portland

Paul Attfield

by Paul Attfield in Soccer News

Updated May 5, 2021 · 6:52 AM PDT

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Portland Timbers forward Felipe Mora scores on a penalty kick in stoppage time of a CONCACAF Champions League soccer match against the América in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)
  • Both Columbus Crew and Portland Timbers will be looking to win in Mexico after both conceding away goals in first-leg draws last week
  • The Crew meet four-time winner CF Monterrey in the first quarterfinal on Wednesday, with the Timbers playing Club America at Azteca Stadium in the day’s other last-eight tie
  • Read on for betting odds, a full preview and best bets for the last two of this week’s four CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals

If either the Columbus Crew or Portland Timbers are to join the Philadelphia Union and Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, they’re going to have to do it in the hardest of hard ways. No MLS club has advanced from a second leg in Mexico after drawing the first leg, with there being only three instances of clubs managing to advance at all out of 21 occurrences since the 2008-09 season, in all cases having won their home legs.

And with the Crew drawing 2-2 last week at home against CF Monterrey, and Portland drawing 1-1 against Club America, the odds are equally stacked against them, with MLS clubs managing one draw and five losses in the return legs in Mexico on the six occasions that a first-leg draw has occurred between MLS and Mexican sides. And the one team that did achieve a draw south of the border – the San Jose Earthquakes – still found themselves eliminated in a penalty shootout in the 2014 quarterfinal.

CF Monterrey vs Columbus Crew Odds

Matchup Spread Moneyline Total at DraftKings
Monterrey vs Columbus MON -0.5 (-167) | COL +0.5 (+128) MON -162 | COL +475 | DRAW +275 Ov 2.5 (+116) | Un 2.5 (-152)

Odds as of May 5 at DraftKings

Crew In Tough

In their third appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League, the Columbus Crew are looking for their first-ever win in Mexico, starting Wednesday at 8:00 pm EST. They will attempt to do so against the team with the best winning percentage in the tournament’s history at 69.4%, as well as the owner of the most wins in the tournament’s knockout round with 19.

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By way of contrast, that’s as many games as Columbus has played in this tournament in franchise history, with eight wins to go alongside six losses and five draws. Monterrey, on the other hand, has played 49 games in this competition, with 34 wins

Limited Success for Columbus

Going up against the four-time CONCACAF Champions League winners, Columbus has experienced very limited success against Liga MX teams, with only a group-stage victory against Santos Laguna in 2010 to go against two draws and four losses.

The defending MLS Cup champions hardly had the best of warmups on the weekend either, drawing 0-0 against a CF Montreal side that outshot them 20-3. And things will get tougher still for the Crew on Wednesday, as designated player Lucas Zelarayan, who scored one of the Crew’s two goals in the first leg, will miss the game through suspension.

Best Bet: Over 2.5 (+116)

Club America vs Portland Timbers Odds

Matchup Spread Moneyline Total at DraftKings
Club America vs Portland CA -0.5 (-150) | POR +0.5 (+115) CA -148 | POR +400 | DRAW +270 Ov 2.5 (+107) | Un 2.5 (-141)

Timbers Facing Uphill Climb

If needing a result against the seven-time winners of the CONCACAF Champions Cup on their own turf wasn’t hard enough, the Portland Timbers will also be playing a team in form when they take the field at the Azteca Stadium for Wednesday’s 10:15 pm EST kickoff – Club America have dropped points at home just twice since November.

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Giovanni Savarese’s squad will be boosted by the return of forward Jeremy Ebobisse, who came off the bench to play 15 minutes at the end of the weekend’s 4-1 loss against FC Dallas. The team will hope his return will somewhat mitigate an otherwise lengthy injury list, with Jaroslaw Niezgoda, Ismaila Jome, Steve Clark and former Club American stalwart Cristhian Paredes all missing this game, and playmaker Sebastian Blanco also out.

Club America Shows Winning Pedigree

Santiago Solari’s team is also missing a couple of key regulars, with Jesus Lopez and Sebastian Cordova both out for Wednesday’s match. However, given Club America’s track record, the team just knows how to win, no matter who is in the starting lineup, and warmed up for this one with a 1-0 win over Pumas in the last match of the Liga MX regular season.

In 26 games in the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League, Club America boasts an enviable record of 13 wins, eight draws and five losses, and the team has only ever lost two home games in 18 games played.

Against MLS clubs, the team has played 10 games, losing three, drawing four and winning three, most memorably a 4-2 win in Montreal in the second leg of the 2015 final to clinch the title.

In six quarterfinals in the Champions League, Club America has never failed to advance.

Pick: Over 2.5  (+107)


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