Friday afternoon at Mapfre Stadium was all about the return of three former Crew SC members: Chad Marshall, Brad Evans and of course Sigi Schmidt. The stories, the feelings, the old friends. But let’s not get confused here, tomorrow night at 7:30 it will be a war on the pitch.

Last year, Crew SC stole three points from Century Link with a late, late piece of beauty from Justin Meram that earned a 2-1 victory.

In 2015, on the road, Seattle looks scary not only because of their firepower, but for the way they control the tempo. They push the gas pedal early, then they go on cruise control, and then they go over the speed limit to finish strong. They scored six goals in their last two visits to Colorado and New York and haven’t lost a game since April 12th (0-1 at L.A Galaxy)

Crew SC has been solid in Columbus: Three wins, One loss. They outscored rivals 10-3. With this type of numbers, they feel confident they can get a positive result at home against Seattle. However, last week at Washington DC the team was offensively a ghost. No rhythm, no speed and zero imagination to get into the box.

Against Seattle, Columbus can’t rely on crosses. Their front court has to be on the same page to create a high voltage soccer circuit with Justin Meram, not Higuaín, dictating the pace of the attack. Now the defensive tactic has to be also on board ready to run fast, real fast.

Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey are, without question, the best offensive duo in the League. In order to contain this dual threat, Columbus has to focus on two aspects:

1. Anticipation.- There is nobody faster than Martins on the Crew SC back line, period. They have to cut the services to him; they have to make him uncomfortable and don’t let him turn if he receives the ball.

2. Avoid the open spaces.- This is probably the hardest to accomplish because of their style of play with their full backs constantly pushing forward, but if they don’t cover each other the long balls will be too much to handle.

Seattle has never lost in Columbus and right now, they look stronger, by a hair, than Crew SC.

Prediction: 3-2 Seattle.

Seattle Form

New York FC 1-3 Seattle
Seattle 1-0 Portland
Colorado 1-3 Seattle
L.A Galaxy 1-0 Seattle
Seattle 1-0 Houston

Crew SC Form

DC United 2-0 Crew SC
Crew SC 4-1 Philadelphia
Crew SC 3-0 Orlando City
New England 0-0 Crew SC
Vancouver 2-2 Crew SC
Crew SC 1-2 New York