Chicago Fire FC vs Columbus Crew SC, 2018
Overview
Match Preview
Chicago Fire FC vs Columbus Crew SC — MLS .
- Chicago Fire FC 17 games · 29 pts (2026/26)
- Columbus Crew SC 18 games · 20 pts (2026/26)
Match Details
- Referee Jair Marrufo
- Referee Peter Balciunas
- Referee Ian Anderson
- Referee Victor Rivas
4 games this season
🟨 0.5/game
⚽ 1.8 goals/game
Standings
| # | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville SC | 18 | 40 |
| 2 | Internacional CF Miami | 18 | 38 |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 18 | 30 |
| 4 | Chicago Fire FC | 17 | 29 |
| 5 | New York City FC | 18 | 26 |
| 6 | FC Cincinnati | 18 | 26 |
| 7 | Charlotte FC | 18 | 25 |
| 8 | New York Red Bulls | 18 | 25 |
| 9 | D.C. United SC | 18 | 23 |
| 10 | Columbus Crew SC | 18 | 20 |
| 11 | Orlando City SC | 18 | 20 |
| 12 | Toronto FC | 18 | 17 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Union | 18 | 16 |
| 14 | Montreal Impact FC | 18 | 16 |
| 15 | Atlanta United FC | 18 | 12 |
| 16 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 17 | 34 |
| 17 | Los Angeles FC | 19 | 34 |
| 18 | San Jose Earthquakes | 18 | 33 |
| 19 | Houston Dynamo | 18 | 32 |
| 20 | FC Dallas | 18 | 27 |
| 21 | Real Salt Lake | 17 | 27 |
| 22 | St. Louis City | 18 | 26 |
| 23 | Portland Timbers | 18 | 24 |
| 24 | Seattle Sounders FC | 17 | 24 |
| 25 | Minnesota United FC | 18 | 24 |
| 26 | Colorado Rapids SC | 18 | 22 |
| 27 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 19 | 22 |
| 28 | San Diego FC | 18 | 21 |
| 29 | Austin FC | 18 | 17 |
| 30 | Sporting Kansas City | 18 | 14 |
Head-to-Head
Last 5 meetings
Recent Form
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08 Apr | Columbus Crew SC | H | 1–0 | W |
| 31 Mar | Portland Timbers | H | 2–2 | D |
| 17 Mar | Minnesota United FC | A | 1–2 | L |
| 10 Mar | Sporting Kansas City | H | 3–4 | L |
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08 Apr | Chicago Fire FC | A | 0–1 | L |
| 31 Mar | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | H | 1–2 | L |
| 24 Mar | D.C. United SC | H | 3–1 | W |
| 17 Mar | Philadelphia Union | A | 0–0 | D |
| 10 Mar | Montreal Impact FC | H | 3–2 | W |
| 03 Mar | Toronto FC | A | 2–0 | W |
Season Stats
| Chicago Fire FC | Columbus Crew SC | |
|---|---|---|
| #4 | Position | #10 |
| 29 | Points | 20 |
| 17 | Played | 18 |
| 9 / 2 / 6 | W / D / L | 5 / 5 / 8 |
| 32 | Scored | 26 |
| 23 | Conceded | 28 |
| +9 | GD | -2 |
| 1.71 | PPG | 1.11 |
| 53% | Win % | 28% |
Key Stats
47%
Both Teams to Score
H2H (19 games)
H2H (19 games)
53%
Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
H2H history
41%
Clean Sheets
Chicago Fire FC this season
Chicago Fire FC this season
21%
Clean Sheets
Columbus Crew SC this season
Columbus Crew SC this season
Chicago Fire FC are 4th (29 pts). Columbus Crew SC are 10th (20 pts).
Goal Timing (This Season)
Chicago Fire FC
0-15
3/1
16-30
7/4
31-45
1/5
46-60
2/2
61-75
6/–
76+
2/4
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Columbus Crew SC
0-15
2/6
16-30
2/2
31-45
6/2
46-60
3/2
61-75
1/4
76+
2/2
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Top Scorers (This Season)
Chicago Fire FC
| Hugo Cuypers | 11 G | |
| Philip Zinckernagel | 5 G | 4 A |
Columbus Crew SC
| Diego Rossi | 6 G | 1 A |
| Wessam Abou Ali | 5 G | 1 A |
Events
Match Events
- 0' What a night it is going to be! Chicago Fire FC welcome Columbus Crew SC for this crunch clash at .
- 5' While there is no rush on the pitch, let’s have a look at some stats. Zack Steffen made 287 appearances and scored 1 goals. He is very likely to score a goal today.
- 10' Columbus Crew SC has dominated the recent head-to-head record, winning 0 of the last 1 meetings.
- 15' Cristian Martinez, a Panama , has 0 bookings this season and will need to keep his discipline tonight.
- 20' While players are taking a pause, let’s have a look at their stats. The teams met 1 times this season with Columbus Crew SC winning 0% of all matches.
- 25' will be watching from the dugout nervously. His Chicago Fire FC side need to improve if they are to claim all three points.
- 30' Diego Campos is putting in a real shift tonight. He has covered more ground than anyone else for Columbus Crew SC so far.
- 35' The midfield battle is intense right now. Both Chicago Fire FC and Columbus Crew SC are fighting for every inch of the pitch.
- 40' Columbus Crew SC fans have not had much to celebrate tonight. Their side is struggling to get forward.
- 45' A moment of individual brilliance could settle this. Both teams are waiting for that decisive action.
- 50' The travelling Columbus Crew SC supporters hardly appreciate their team being pressed down to the backline.
- 55' Both teams are passing the ball around with high level of urgency. Chicago Fire FC needs to do something about it to get closer to the goal.
- 60' Neither side is committing men forward. This has all the hallmarks of a tense, tactical contest.
- 65' It looks surprising Columbus Crew SC does not make any changes. Niko Hansen has some obvious troubles when approaching to the goal.
- 70' Spectators do not have much to choose from both teams. The sides had several scoring chances but they still need a bit more than just a sight of a goal.
- 75' The teams are not in a rush to score plenty of goals. It might look strange considering Columbus Crew SC that had 287 games and scored 430 goals.
- 80' Columbus Crew SC looks like a favorite considering 0 games won in last 1 matches with its main striker scoring 0 goals.
- 85' Supporters expect more eagerness from Nemanja Nikolics, as he is very good at scoring at with 0 goals in the last 0 games.
- 90' international has been a key figure this campaign — 0 goals and 0 assists in the Array this season.
- The final whistle goes. A composed, disciplined performance from Chicago Fire FC to claim maximum points.
Lineups
Chicago Fire FC Lineups
Starting XI
- 31
- 23
-
21
Alan Gordon ↓ Brandt Bronico 77'
- 18
- 3
- 45
- 6
- 4
-
5
Kevin Ellis ↓ Grant Lillard 64'
- 12
-
17
Diego Campos ↓ Elliot Collier 71'
Bench
- 27
- 22
- 10
-
13
Brandt Bronico ↑ 77'
- 32
-
15
Grant Lillard ↑ 64'
-
28
Elliot Collier ↑ 71'
Coach
Veljko Paunovic
Columbus Crew SC Lineups
Starting XI
-
18
Cristian Martinez ↓ Niko Hansen 57'
- 19
- 4
- 25
- 10
- 11
- 6
- 9
- 23
-
7
Artur ↓ Mohammed Abu 57'
-
3
Joshua Williams ↓ Adam Jahn 90'
Bench
- 17
- 16
- 24
-
28
Niko Hansen ↑ 57'
- 31
-
14
Adam Jahn ↑ 90'
-
8
Mohammed Abu ↑ 57'
Coach
Gregg Berhalter
H2H
H2H Top Scorers
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Gyasi Zardes | 8 |
| Cucho Hernandez | 3 |
| Derrick Etienne | 3 |
| Jacen Russell-Rowe | 3 |
| Diego Rossi | 3 |
| Nemanja Nikolics | 2 |
| Gyasi Zardes | 2 |
| Luka Stojanovic | 2 |
Head to Head
Chicago Fire FC Form
Columbus Crew SC Form
2018-04-08
Chicago Fire FC
1–0
Columbus Crew SC
L
2018-03-31
Columbus Crew SC
1–2
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
L
2018-03-24
Columbus Crew SC
3–1
D.C. United SC
W
2018-03-17
Philadelphia Union
0–0
Columbus Crew SC
D
2018-03-10
Columbus Crew SC
3–2
Montreal Impact FC
W
2018-03-03
Toronto FC
0–2
Columbus Crew SC
W
Predictions
Prediction accuracy
3 / 4
1.62
Chicago Fire FC xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
0.93
Columbus Crew SC xG
I would bet for:
Markets are evenly balanced — no clear value pick.
Match Result
✓ CorrectActual: Chicago Fire FC win
Both Teams to Score
✓ Correct
Avg goals/match: 2.55
Actual: No — clean sheet
Over / Under Goals
✓ O/U 2.5| Line | Over | Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ± 0.5 | 90% |
|
10% |
| ± 1.5 | 72% |
|
28% |
| ± 2.5 | 46% |
|
54% |
| ± 3.5 | 26% |
|
74% |
| ± 4.5 | 12% |
|
88% |
Double Chance
Chicago Fire FC or Draw
78%
Draw or Columbus Crew SC
48%
Chicago Fire FC or Columbus Crew SC
73%
Half-Time Result
✗ WrongActual: Chicago Fire FC win at HT
Correct Score
✓ In top 12
1 – 1
12.6%
1 – 0
Actual
2 – 0
10%
0 – 0
9.8%
2 – 1
9.2%
0 – 1
6.2%
3 – 0
5.3%
1 – 2
5.2%
3 – 1
5%
2 – 2
4.3%
0 – 2
3.3%
3 – 2
2.4%
Asian Handicap — Chicago Fire FC
| Handicap | Chicago Fire FC covers | Push | Columbus Crew SC covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | 12% | — | 88% |
| -2 | 12% | 16% | 72% |
| -1.5 | 28% | — | 72% |
| -1 | 28% | 24% | 48% |
| -0.5 | 52% | — | 48% |
| +0.5 | 80% | — | 20% |
| +1 | 80% | 13% | 7% |
| +1.5 | 93% | — | 7% |
| +2 | 93% | 5% | 2% |
| +2.5 | 98% | — | 2% |
Clean Sheet
Chicago Fire FC keeps clean sheet
40%
✗
Columbus Crew SC keeps clean sheet
21%
✓
Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.