MLS Matchday 20 sees 1 game Friday, June 14, with NYCFC hosting Columbus and then 13 on Saturday, so it’s a full weekend of MLS action for the teams (minus Portland), but not for all MLS players, with tons of players away for international tournaments, so be sure to check the MLS site for a list of international call-ups by team.
Gonzalo Pineda was fired from Atlanta after Matchday 18’s loss to Charotte, with Rob Valentina coming back for a 2nd stint with the Five Stripes and FC Dallas cut ties with Nico Estevez on Sunday. New coach / old assistatn Peter Luccin has promised a more exciting brand of soccer.
Will either move give their teams a new coach bump this weekend with Atlanta hosting Houston and Dallas hosting St. Louis?
Tough to say. I’ll sit out those games and wait and see. But I will bet these 6 games in 2 parlays for my MLS predictions for Week 20.
MLS Picks and Parlays #1
CF Montreal vs Real Salt Lake Prediction
RSL won 5-1 in their last game and are now undefeated in 13 MLS games, outscoring opponents 31-14 in that time.
Only Miami with 35 points has more than RSL’s 33 and no one has more goals than Chicho Arango’s 16.
RSL was spared from the international call-up window so could this streak continue?
Can Montreal slow down RSL and without Mathieu Choiniere, Ariel Lassiter and Samuel Piette away for their national teams?
They wouldn’t be my pick to stop the streak at just 4-5-7 and 12th in the East with 1 win in 11 games in all comps.
As good as RSL have been they’ve still given up 1, 1, 3, 3, 0 and 2 goals in recent games so perhaps Montreal gets on the scoresheet. They have drawn 2-2 and won 4-2 in their last 2 games and have scored in 8-9 in all comps.
These teams don’t play often but historically only their first-ever meeting in 2012 (1-0), didn’t see goals from both with BTTS going 8-0 since.
Montreal games also average the 3rd most goals per match at 3.6, tied with Portland and only lower than the 3.9 of San Jose and 3.8 of Portland.
- MLS Predictions: RSL to score
Orlando City SC vs LAFC Prediction
It’s really hard to know what you’re getting from Orlando. They were winless in 4, then 4-3-2 and now winless in 3 again, after a 1-0 loss, 1-1 draw and 2-0 loss in recent games.
They’ve scored just 2 goals in 5 games and versus bad teams like San Jose and Chicago, have failed to score at home in 3 games and have just 1 win at home in 9 games.
In those last 9 home games they have scored just 6 goals.
This week they’re missing as many as 8 players to international duty and that includes keeper Pedro Gallese.
LAFC have their absences too, notably Cristian Olivera, but Denis Bouanga should be back from Gabon and he has goals in each of this last 2 games and 4 goals in 4 MLS games.
LAFC as a team have just 1 loss in 12, have won 7 straight, kept 6 straight clean sheets and outscored opponents 15-1 in those 7 wins.
These teams haven’t played since 2022 when it was 4-2 LAFC. Other meetings were 1-1, 2-2 and 4-1. Those go back to 2018 so aren’t super relevant here but, worth noting, there’s always been goals.
It would be great value on LAFC (+155) to win on the road but looks too easy. Other options for MLS picks could be LAFC draw not bet (-110), LAFC double chance (-200) or simply LAFC to score (-340) in this parlay.
- MLS Predictions: LAFC to score
Colorado Rapids vs Austin FC Prediction
Neither team is missing a ton of players to international duty but Austin is out the two CBs from their last game in Julio Cascante (Costa Rica) and Leo Vaisanen (Finland). Vaisanen though should be back with friendlies over.
The teams are nearly side-by-side in the table with Austin 6th with 23 points and Colorado 8th with 22. Both have also been slumping of late.
The Rapids have now dropped 4 straight by scores of 2-1, 3-1, 3-3 and 5-3. That’s a lot of not only BTTS but also BTTS & Over 2.5 bets cashing. BTTS on the season has gone 10-4, as they’ve scored in 13/14 but allowed in 11/14.
Austin is winless in 3, after 5-1 and 2-0 losses and a 1-1 draw so they could be regressing to the mean after a strong run of form. After all they have the 3rd worst expected points per game rate in the league.
While they are a so-so 1-2-2 in their last 5 road games in MLS this season, bets on the Verde winning away from Q2 are rare — something they’ve only done 4 times in 30 road MLS games.
Games between these teams have recently been tight with the past three scorelines 1-0 Colorado and 1-1 and 1-1.
- MLS Predictions: Over 1.5
- Parlay Picks: RSL to score / LAFC to score / COL vs AUS over 1.5 (-131)
MLS Picks and Parlays #2
All three 10:30 pm EST games here.
San Jose Earthquakes vs FC Cincinnati Prediction
2nd in the East and 3rd in the Supporters’ Shield race Cincinnati travels to 14th in the West and 29th overall San Jose.
Only Miles Robinson should miss out out here for Cincy away with USA.
San Jose have or had 7 players away but many could be back. Midfielder Carlos Gruezo will certainly be away as he’s with Ecuador for the Copas.
There’s only ever been two meetings with Cincy winning 6-0 in 2022 and San Jose 1-0 in 2019.
Cincy has actually been off all month, last playing May 29 and surprisingly losing 2-0 at home to Nashville. That snapped a 7-match winning streak where they had scored 15 goals.
That was also the first time they were held off the scoresheet in 13 games in all comps.
The Quakes had a brief upswing last month being undefeated in 4 games, but since have gone 0-1-5 and are coming off a 5-1 loss to NYCFC.
Include all comps for San Jose (18) and they’ve conceded a goal in 17 of them, only keeping a clean sheet in the USOC against Oakland. They also allowed 3 goals to Sacramento in the USOC too. And it’s multiple goals conceded in 4/6.
This is much like the LAFC game. A Cincy win is a great price but looks too easy. Options could be FCC double chance (-220), FCC draw no bet (-130) or FCC just to score in this parlay (-450).
- MLS Predictions: Cincinnati to score
LA Galaxy vs SKC Prediction
Neither team looks to be dealing with a call-up crisis. The Galaxy only have Jalen Neal listed away with USA and SKC have 0 players listed.
So this looks relatively easy to handicap. The Galaxy are good. 4th in the West at 7-7-3. They surprisingly lost 2-1 in Chicago in their last game but that is their only defeat in 7 games and they’ve scored multiple goals in 4/6 recent games and in 5/6 recent home games, with totals of 3, 2, 2, 4, 1 and 3.
SKC are bad. 12th in the West at 3-5-9. They may have won last weekend 2-1 at home over Seattle, but that snapped a run of 10 winless games in MLS. The trio of Johnny Russell, Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi only have 7 goals between them and that’s not enough.
It continued a trend that has seen them score and concede, now scoring in 15/17 and conceding in 16/17 and 14 straight. During that 1-match winless run they allowed multiple goals in 9/10.
LA already won in KC this season 3-2. Last year scores were 2-2 and 0-0 and the year prior 2-2 and 4-2 SKC.
This should be a Galaxy win where they score at least 2. In SKC’s last 5 road MLS games they’ve lost 3-1, 2-1, 3-2, 1-0 and 2-1.
The BTTS & Over 2.5 bet could be in play. LA have allowed a goal or more in 5 of their past 6 and in their past 3 they’ve conceded vs Chicago, Dallas and Houston, not the most prolific of offenses
- MLS Predictions: LA Galaxy to score over 1.5
Seattle Sounders vs Minnesota United Prediction
Maybe no team is more affected by international call-ups that Minnesota.
Each of Robin Lod, Tani Oluwaseyi, Dayne St. Clair, Kervin Arriaga, Alejandro Bran, Carlos Harvey, Teemu Pukki, Joseph Rosales, Zarek Valentin are on the call-up list.
Now Pukki and Lod for Finland should be back which will help.
Without much of their starting roster last week they still drew Dallas 1-1. That makes the Loons 5-3-1 in their past 9. They’ve scored in 14/16 games this season and every single one of their game (16-0) has gone Over 1.5.
For Seattle, just when they looked to be improving with just 1 loss in 9 games in all comps, they went to Kansas City and lost 2-1 to a team that had been winless in 10 games last week.
The Sounders have still scored in 9/11, and 5 straight, but BTTS has also gone 5-0. Season-long, 13 of their 17 MLS games have seen 2+ goals.
This weekend Seattle will also be celebrating their 50th anniversary, so perhaps there will be a little extra energy in the stadium.
Last year the scores were tight, 1-1 and 1-0 Seattle in Seattle. But I’ll bet at least 2 goals in this game Saturday.
- MLS Predictions: Over 1.5
- Parlay Picks: CIN to score / LAG to score over 1.5 / SEA v MIN over 1.5 (+128)
Ryan Métivier is a seasoned editor, writer and communications professional with years of experience in all fields. When it comes to covering sports, he’s written for numerous outlets and organizations including the OHL, CHL, SportsXpress, Sports Betting Dime, Cleveland.com, MassLive, FanSided and others.
While he’ll always cheer for his hometown Toronto teams, when it comes to betting, his only allegiance is his bankroll. Ryan specializes in global soccer, the NFL and the NHL, but if there is a bet to be made, he’ll make it. As the founder of Shred The Spread, Ryan focuses on combining storylines, trends, analytics and good bankroll management to creating simple bets that make sense.
When not making a case for why both teams will score in an MLS soccer match, he can be found focusing his efforts on fitness, attempting to learn Spanish, cooking or planning his travel adventure.
