Winning consecutive titles is difficult, and given all of the matches that LAFC have played this year, the Crew will likely be a little fresher, which could make the difference in what promises to be a nail-biting affair.
The overall quality of the Crew and home-field advantage may give Columbus more of an edge and propel them to another MLS Cup title.
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Columbus Crew win with a probability of 50.65%. A win for Los Angeles FC had a probability of 25.86% and a draw had a probability of 23.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Columbus Crew win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.64%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.22%) and 2-0 (8.1%). The likeliest Los Angeles FC win was 1-2 (6.53%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.97%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Columbus Crew in this match.
