- NYCFC and Columbus Crew are level on 12 points in the MLS 2026 table with 11 games played.
- Each team is averaging 2.5 goals per match across their last five head-to-head meetings in New York.
- Nicolas Fernandez has scored eight goals in 11 MLS 2026 games for NYCFC, while Columbus Crew’s Wessam Abou Ali has five in seven.
Crew will come to challenge NYCFC
New York City FC and Columbus Crew are on the same points in the MLS 2026 standings, but with much different records after 11 games. The hosts are 20th, two places above 22nd-placed Columbus, with the Crew looking the better team in recent weeks.
Pascal Jansen’s NYCFC side has the look of a well-organised outfit that plays the possession-based game of many city-based clubs, but is happy to make structured, positional presses when the ball is turned over. Talles Magno is the main goal threat with four in NYCFC’s last five games and Maxi Moralez has created plenty of chances with six assists in 11 league games.
They’ve won one, drawn one and lost three of their last five, with a 0-2 home loss to D.C. United three days ago leaving the city in a funk ahead of Sunday’s game. NYCFC’s record at Yankee Stadium is two wins, two draws and three defeats, but they’ve conceded 13 goals at an average of 1.86 per game.
Two attacking sides should mean an open match
Henrik Rydström has brought a more aggressive pressing game to Columbus since taking over in January 2026, while they look to play in transition and at pace. The Crew’s recent results show an improvement with three wins and two defeats in their last five, highlighted by a 2-0 win over Philadelphia Union in MLS 2026.
Their away record doesn’t look so hot, however, with one win, one draw and three defeats in MLS 2026 with 1.80 goals per game scored and 2.00 conceded.
Expect a chess match
A draw looks the likeliest outcome given NYCFC’s 20th-place position and Columbus Crew’s 22nd-place standing in the Eastern Conference with both teams on 12 points, but the odds of 3.64 look a bit too short.
The two teams are each averaging 2.5 goals per match across their last five home encounters and, given both teams’ attacking strengths and defensive vulnerabilities, we’re expecting a similar result.
Columbus Crew’s away form still gives us pause, but we’re going for a BTTS - Yes bet at 1.56 and over 2.5 goals at 1.77. Both sides will want to impose their style of play and neither will be able to for long enough periods to get the upper hand, so an entertaining draw looks the most likely result.
