MLS Matchday 22 sees 13 games on Saturday, August 22 followed by two more on Sunday between New England vs New York City and Atlanta vs Sporting KC.
Let’s remember that a few of these teams have big playoff games coming up in the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals next week. Chicago, RSL, Austin and Columbus all will play on Tuesday and Wednesday.
For this weekend’s MLS Week 22 predictions, I have 8 games to look at.
MLS Picks and Parlays #1
FC Cincinnati vs Seattle Sounders Prediction
Evander’s 91’ minute goal put Cincy back in the win column over NYCFC Wednesday, with a 2-1 result. Kenji Mboma Dem had the other. Evander has goals in 11 of his last 16 overall games and in MLS games alone 1+ SOT in 13 straight. And Mboma Dem has 3 goals in 5 games.
The Garys had lost 2-1 and drawn 1-1 before this win, so it was another game with a good amount of goals. They’ve scored in 21 straight, while also conceding in 12/13, and the one where they didn’t wasn’t even an MLS games. In MLS games, they’ve won each of their past 4 home games.
This looks like a good spot for 3 more points too.
Seattle is struggling hard. Wednesday was another loss, their 8th-straight in the league when they lost 2-1 at home to Austin. It was 2-0 until Seattle’s late goal in the 90’. Look at all comps and Seattle has 1 win in 11 games, versus a heavily rotated Querataro team, have allowed multiple goals in 9/12, scored only 8 goals in 11 games and haven’t won a road game in any competition since April 4.
- MLS picks: Cincinnati to win (-150) Add Evander sot (-110), or Evander g/a (-105)
MLS Picks and Parlays #2
New York Red Bulls vs Chicago Fire Prediction
The Red Bulls are one of those teams where you rarely know what you’re going to get. They’re currently 8th In the East.
At one point they had gone winless in 5. Then they were undefeated in 4. Now it’s losses in 4/5 after losing 1-0 to Nashville on Wednesday, but that one goal came in the 92’ so they can hang around with top teams. They’ve at least scored in 7/9, but the most consistent thing they do is concede, having done so in 20 straight and 21/22 overall matches this season. That’s hard to do. They’ve also allowed multiple goals in 4/5 (10 total).
That’s not great reading against of the league’s hottest and highest scoring teams in Chicago. But …. New York did beat the Fire 3-1 in Chicago back in May. 3 of their last 4 meetings have cashed BTTS & O2.5 bets.
Chicago went through a long weather delay with Orlando on Wednesday and came out the better in a 2-1 win. Puso Dithejane scored one of the goals and has 3 goals this past week. Lewandowski scored the winner on a PK and has 3 goals in 5 MLS games. Chicago is up to 3rd in the East and is in the midst of their most productive spell in years having now won 6 straight and scoring multiple goals in each one. The defence is still a question with a goal conceded in 8/9, but, not more than 1 goal in in any of their last 6.
The Fire have a big game coming on Tuesday vs Monterrey. I would think maybe there is some rotation. Lewandowski can’t be playing almost 90 on Wednesday, a full game Saturday and then again on Tuesday. Zincknernagel almost missed out vs Orlando. But I also think they should be focused to keep the winning streak alive. If the Fire continue their streak of not allowing more than 1 goal, at worst they draw.
- MLS picks: Chicago double chance
Inter Miami vs Toronto FC Prediction
Both teams were involved in wild games on Wednesday and both will be missing players from those outcomes.
For Toronto, they are one of the draw kings this season, and they claimed another unlikely draw vs Charlotte at BMO Field. Down 3-1 and down a man with Walker Zimmerman sent off, they fought back with goals in the 76’ and 90’ from Daniel Salloi and newcomer Niklas Dorsch to tie 3-3. They’re now 1-4-1 in their last 6 after beating New England 2-1 in the game prior. But that is their only win in 14 games. The BTTS is 4-0.
Mihailovic missed the Charlotte game with a red card but returns which is the good. The bad, is Dorsch is already out having sustained a facial fracture last game
Miami went back and forth with Philly, down 1-0, up 2-1, tied 2-2, and probably lucky to have not given up more, given Philly had tons of shots and a goal called back. The stats were all in the Union’s favour:
- Shots: 18-6
- SOT: 8-3
- xG: 3.46 to 1.55
- Corners: 4-1
Messi had a goal and assist and the game ended with a scrap between Yannick Bright and Cavan Sullivan, with both getting sent off.
Miami is now winless in 4 games having lost the previous 3. Their games are always filled with goals but recently the scores are 2-2, 4-1, 3-2, 2-1, 4-2, and 2-2.
Toronto hasn’t beaten Miami in 7 meetings but they often keep it interesting. They lost 4-2 in May and other scores have been 1-1, 1-1, 1-0 and 4-3.
- MLS picks: BTTS & Over 2.5 (-163)
- Parlay Picks: CHI double chance / MIA vs TOR btts & O2.5 (+120)
MLS Picks and Parlays #3
Nashville vs Columbus Crew Prediction
The Crew really let me down on Wednesday with a poor showing vs Montreal, a team that hadn’t won in weeks. They lost 2-1 and their only goal was an OG. They also lost 3-1 to Charlotte before that and drew 1-1 in their final Leagues Cup game.
Speaking of Leagues Cup, they have a big game Wednesday vs Club America. Certainly they can’t not worry about this game, but … perhaps there is some rotation with the semifinals on the line.
Crew games usually see goals with BTTS being 8-0 and BTTS & O2.5 being 7-1.
Nashville weren’t great coming out of the World Cup break or during Leagues Cup. But it’s now wins of 4-1 over Miami and 1-0 over the New York Red Bulls. That was their first clean sheet in 6 games.
Nashville are almost perfect at home at 9-1-0 and have outscored teams 29-10.
They had a tight 1-0 win over the Crew in Columbus this season, and a bigger 3-o win over them last year in Nashville.
- MLS picks: Nashville to win
That alone won’t pay off too big so let’s include one very simple pick in this next game.
Charlotte FC vs DC United Prediction
At home, Charlotte probably wins this game where they’re 6-3-2. But DC draws a lot of games, and a lot of road games where they are 2-6-2. Last year Charlotte won 2-1 and 1-0. They’ve not lost to DC in regulation in 6 games.
This season, the Crown are 6-2-2 in their last 10, only 1 loss in 5 and have scored 3 goals in back-to-back games. Only once in 10 have they not scored. They did give up 3 to Toronto on Wednesday in a 3-3 despite being up 3-1 and up a man.
DC gave up 3 goals too, but didn’t score any and lost 3-0 to New England. They had scored in 11 straight prior, but have conceded in 9 straight too. So BTTS is 8-1. They have a TON of draws, with draws in 5/7.
- MLS picks: Charlotte to score
- Parlay Picks: NAS win / CHA to score (-107)
MLS Picks and Parlays #4
San Jose Earthquakes vs Minnesota United Prediction
It’s hard to know who to trust less here.
The Loons had been undefeated in 3 in regulation, but lost 2-1 to Atlanta on Wednesday. They’ve only lost 2/7, but 4 of those are draws, so most games, are a coin flip. A 3-1 win over Atlante in the Leagues Cup is their only win in 12, and it’s just 2 wins in 15. Just once in 11 (that Atlante game), have they managed to score more than once in a game. Ouch. But they have scored at least 1 in 5/6.
Then there’s San Jose. They lost on Wednesday as well, 1-0 to the LA Galaxy. To make matters worse, they were up a man for the entire second half and were still outshot in SOT 7-5. They’re winless in 5, have lost 3 straight and have 1 win in 11 overall games. Not since the US Open Cup in April have they kept a clean sheet, a run of 15 games.
This is ugly all around. I like a draw or an Under 2.5/3.5.
- MLS picks: Under 3.5
San Diego FC vs Colorado Rapids Prediction
Colorado’s midweek game looked close to call vs LAFC, and it was. The Rapids benefitted from an own goal in the 22’ minute, got a save from a penalty, and it ended in a 1-0 win.
That’s been the story lately for Colorado. It’s 3 straight wins of 1-0, 2-0 and 1-0. They have wins in 4/5, clean sheets in 4/5, have only scored multiple goals twice in 11, and have only conceded multiple goals twice in 11 as well. The Under 2.5 is 10-1 and Under 3.5 is 11-0. In fact, 4 of their past 5 have seen just a single goal scored.
San Diego were picking up steam with 3 straight wins but fell flat without the suspended Dreyer on Wednesday against Portland and lost 3-1. The good news is Gabriel Pirani scored his first goal after making 6 appearances with the team, and in the first game he played the full 90.
Defense has been hit and miss giving up all kinds of totals – 0, 1, 2 or 3 goals in their last 8. Offensively, they’re consistently average. Just once, vs Puebla have they scored multiple goals in their last 8. In 6/8 they’ve scored exactly 1.
In 3 all-time meetings, all the home teams have won: COL 3-2 and SD 2-0 last year, and this season, COL 1-0 very recently on July 22 where both teams only had 2 SOT.
- MLS picks: Under 4.5
- Parlay Picks: SJ vs MIN under 3.5 / SD vs COL under 4.5 (+103)
MLS Picks and Parlays #5
St. Louis City vs Houston Dynamo Prediction
Coming into Wednesday’s action these were the two hottest teams in the league over the previous 10 rounds, both with 23 points. Both came out of Week 21 with points, but it was just 1 for St. Louis and 3 for Houston.
In the West, that puts them 1st for Houston with 38 points and 6th for St. Louis with 30.
St. Louis played SKC and drew 1-1. That extends an undefeated streak to 11 games across all comps. They’ve scored in all of those 11 and conceded only 3 goals in their last 4. All eyes will be watching for more playing time on Danish midfielder Carlo Holse and if he could start. He’s played 51 minutes in 2 games so far.
Houston played Vancouver and with a 1-0 win overtook the Caps for the 1st. Franco Negri got the only goal meaning Guilherme’s 4-gae scoring streak ended. After getting that goal, the Dynamo just sat back and absorbed pressure all game. It was not pretty. And as someone who needed just 1 Vancouver goal to cash a parlay, it was frustrating to see total domination in possession in shots but no ability to break through this Dynamo defence which has not pitched clean sheets in 5 straight overall matches. Houston also hasn’t lost in weeks, being 6-3-0 in regulation with just 1 loss in PKs.
But who was that loss too? This St. Louis team. They met in the USOC Quarterfinals and drew 2-2 with St. Louis winning in PKs. But then the 2 STL goals came from Marcel Hartel who is no longer with the team.
- MLS picks: Draw (+250)
Before you make your MLS predictions, check out the best new customer promo codes from all the top sportsbooks! Want more picks in video form, visit the Shred The Spread YouTube Channel for more!
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.
