MLS keeps rolling on and we’re into Week 26 this weekend with a huge 14-game card on Saturday, July 13.
There were cup competitions this week with TFC losing 2-1 to Forge in Leg 1 of the semifinals and Vancouver won 1-0 away to Pacific.
In the USOC Quarterfinals, Atlanta lost 2-1 to the Indy Eleven, Seattle beat Sacramento Republic 2-1, SKC beat FC Dallas 2-1 and LAFC beat New Mexico United 3-1.
All of these teams fielded pretty strong lineups in these games.
So there could be a few tired legs out there this weekend, meaning it could be worth doing some lineup checks.
I love betting on MLS because there’s lots of goals, and the scoring seems to be picking up with 49 goals in 13 games last weekend, good for 3.77 GPG.
There were 47 goals in 13 games in last week’s midweek slate (3.62)
MLS Picks and Parlays #1
Toronto FC vs Philadelphia Union Prediction
Who do I trust more …. or less … here? 9th Toronto or 14th Philadelphia.
On one side we have TFC who just lost 4-0 to Columbus last week. They’re winless in 9 MLS games and after losing in the Canadian Championship this week, it’s no wins in 10 in all comps. They’ve also given multiple goals in 8 straight games. That’s ugly.
But on the other side we have the Union who drew 0-0 last week with the Red Bulls and are winless in 9 games themselves with just 1 win in 16. That 1 win was over the Revolution.
Prior to last week’s 0-0, they had allowed 4, 4, 2, 4, 2 and 2 goals against. In their past 3 road games they’ve allowed 4 goals in all 3.
These teams played out a rare 0-0 between them in May. Other scorelines have been 3-1, 4-2, 4-0, 2-1, 2-2, 3-0, 5-0, 2-1, 2-1, 3-1 and it goes on and on with more goals between them historically.
This looks like BTTS or BTTS and Over 2.5 if you want better value to me.
- MLS Predictions: Both the score
St. Louis City SC vs Vancouver Whitecaps Prediction
Roman Burki got injured last week and is a question mark to play here. Not good for the West’s 12th ranked team who have 1 win in 11 and just 2 clean sheets in 12. City were missing 8 other starters last week as well to injuries or international call-ups.
The Caps have been up and down all season. But right now they’re hot and sitting 6th in the West and undefeated in 4 games overall. In all comps they’re 5-1-2 in 8 and have scored in 8/9.
Goals have been the story between these two in their short history with St. Louis winning 3-1 and Vancouver 3-0 last year, both at home. On June 24 this season it was a wild 4-3 win for the Caps in Vancouver. St. Louis went up 2-0 within 12 minutes but Vancouver responded with 4 straight goals, 3 straight from Brian White to take a 4-2 lead, before a late St. Louis goal in the 93’ cut it to 4-3.
White now has 5 goals in his last 3 MLS games.
This may not be another 4-3 game, but … St. Louis has still allowed 4 goals in 2/3 recent games. To note though, both came on the road. It should be tighter back in St. Louis but still, the City have just 1 win in 6 home games.
- MLS Predictions: Vancouver to score
New England Revolution vs Orlando City SC Prediction
I don’t trust Orlando, but I’m going to trust them to simply get on the scoresheet here. They’ve won 3/4 and have scored 5, 2, 2, 4, 2 and 1 goals in their past 6.
New England’s uptick in form may have been short-lived. After wins of 2-1, 1-0, 3-2 and 2-1 … they’ve now lost 5-1, won 2-1 and lost 2-0 in their past 3.
They may still be without Carles Gil and have conceded in 5 straight and 9/10.
- MLS Predictions: Orlando to score
- Parlay Picks: TOR vs PHI btts / VAN to score / ORL to score (+150)
MLS Picks and Parlays #2
FC Dallas vs LA Galaxy Prediction
Dallas is all over the place in form this season so it’s hard to know what to expect. Going back over the past couple months, they were undefeated in 5, winless in 4, undefeated in 3, and now have just 1 win in 4 games. Their last 4 games have been a 3-2 loss, 3-2 win, 1-0 loss and 3-2 loss.
FCD have only 1 clean sheet in 13 games but have scored in 6/7 and 15/17.
The Galaxy still have only 4 defeats all season and only 2 in their past 13 where they’re 7-0-2 in 9. The Galaxy have been one of the most exciting teams all season and have scored multiple goals in 8/12.
The Galaxy have allowed goals in back-to-back games after 3 straight clean sheets and have allowed a goal in 6/9.
Recent scores between them? 3-1 LA this season and 4-1 and 3-1 Dallas last year. FCD is actually 5-1-1 vs LAG in the last 7 meetings.
I’m not against a bet on BTTS or maybe a Galaxy win after Dallas just played midweek. Or just asking LAG to score in this parlay something they’ve done in 9 straight.
- MLS Predictions: LA Galaxy to score
Portland Timbers vs Real Salt Lake Prediction
I talked about who do I trust less between TFC and Philly earlier, well this is definitely the opposite. Who do I trust more?
On one hand, RSL is 4th in the Supporters’ Shield race and 2nd in the West with 43 points. In MLS play RSL has just 1 loss in 18 games and 2 in 21. RSL has scored a whopping 12 goals across their last 4 games.
Portland is rising up the table and is 5th in the West with 33 points. The Timbers thrashed Nashville last week winning 4-1 making them 7-2-2 in their past 11 which has seen them score multiple goals in 5 straight and in 9 of those 11 games.
In 3 meetings last year, RSL won in Portland 4-3 in the USOC and they drew 0-0 in Utah and the Timbers won 2-1 in Portland in MLS.
How can there not be goals in this game? Rodriguez, Mora and Evander have combined for 31 goals alone for Portland, while Arango and Gomez have 28 between just the two of them. Anderson Julio has 6 and Diego Luna has 5, including 1 G / 3 A last week vs Atlanta.
- MLS Predictions: Both to Score & Over 2.5
- Parlay Picks: LA to score / POR vs RSL btts & over 2.5 (-105)
MLS Picks and Parlays #3
This two-game parlay will both feature bets on BTTS, but for different reasons. One game has two great teams. One has two very poor teams.
LAFC vs Columbus Crew Prediction
It’s an MLS Cup Final rematch that saw the Crew win 2-1 in December.
Since that win, both teams have remained in great form and are near the top of the respective conferences again.
Columbus is 3rd in the East with just 3 losses in 20 games.
- They’ve won 4 straight and outscored opponents 15-1 in that time
- In all comps, they have just 3 losses in their last 20 games and those have come to Miami, Pachuca and Cincinnati
- The Champions Cup loss to Pachuca is the only time they’ve not scored in 12 games
LAFC is 1st in the West with just 4 losses in 21 games.
- They’ve won 4 straight and outscored opponents 14-4
- They’re undefeated in 13 (12 wins) and have just 1 loss in 18
- They’ve scored in 20 straight games
The only thing that would make me think maybe we don’t see goals is that this should be tight and the Crew have clean sheets in 3/4 and LAFC in 7/12, but they have just 1 in their past 6.
Only LAFC and the Red Bulls have still yet to lose at home this season so it’s hard to bet on LAFC losing, but hard to bet against the Crew either.
So let’s bet on the goals.
- MLS Predictions: Both to Score
San Jose Earthquakes vs Sporting Kansas City Prediction
It’s 14th hosting 13th but oddly and rarely, both are off of wins.
SKC, 3-2 over Dallas and San Jose 1-0 over Chicago.
San Jose’s win snapped a run of 10 games winless in all comps. It was also their first clean sheet in MLS all season. So they have 1 in 22 games.
Scoring means they’ve scored in 17/22, but they have just 1 goal in their past 3 games.
SKC have scored in 20/23 and conceded in 21/23. BTTS bets for SKC this season have gone 19-4 in MLS alone.
It happened last week in a 3-2 win over Dallas and it even happened in the USOC on Wednesday.
But not just that, the BTTS & Over 2.5 has gone 10-2 and 17-3 in recent SKC games. SKC has given up multiple goals in 10/12 and in 14/17 recent MLS games.
This season they played in KC in March and SKC won 2-1. Home teams won 3-0 each in MLS last season. They also met in the playoff game for the playoffs in KC and they drew 0-0, before the home team SKC won in PKs.
The home team has won 5 straight and is undefeated in 7 meetings.
I can’t trust either of these teams to keep the ball out of the back of the net so let’s pair up a BTTS here with BTTS in LAFC-CLB.
- MLS Predictions: Both to Score
- Parlay Picks: LAFC vs CLB both score / SJ vs SKC both score (+133)
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.
