Top Soccer Betting Picks of the Week – August 6th Edition

This weekend marks the first round of matches in the English Premier League, as Manchester City looks to defend their title — and Fulham, Cardiff City and the Wolverhampton Wanderers all start a campaign to remain in England’s top tier after earning promotion. We also have continuing action in Major League Soccer, with Atlanta United and FC Dallas sitting atop the Eastern and Western Conference tables, respectively. Check out our soccer betting previews for three primo matches for wagering this week.

Top Soccer Betting Picks of the Week

MLS Power Rankings Week 22: Where do @NYCFC and @NewYorkRedBulls rank after the All-Star break? https://t.co/enRZMHLwNv pic.twitter.com/Km1uHTmPlv

— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) August 3, 2018

Friday, August 10

EPL: Leicester City at Manchester United (3:00pm ET)

There are always yips heading into the opening week of a new season, and the fact that several of the stars for Manchester United played in the 2018 World Cup and took a break from training afterward plays a role in manager Jose Mourinho’s worries heading into the opener. Marcus Rashford, Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof all came back to training last week but did not look their best in a 1-0 friendly loss to Bayern Munich. Other World Cup competitors include Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku. Leicester City signed winger Rachid Ghezzal from Monaco (Ligue 1), and the Algerian has signed a four-year contract. He and Leicester manager Claude Puel were also together in Lyon. Leicester is also trying to hold onto Harry Maguire, demanding an immense transfer fee for Manchester United to sign him, so there is a little more drama than usual going into this match. Despite the issues in training, Manchester United has the talent to deliver the win, particularly at home. Soccer Betting Prediction: Manchester United 2, Leicester City 1

Saturday, August 11

MLS: Sporting KC at LAFC (10:30pm ET)

These two teams sit tied with 36 points in 22 matches, with Sporting KC holding a 10-8 edge in goal differential. Sporting KC comes in on the strength of a 1-0 win at Houston on Saturday, a match that saw an extraordinary three red cards handed to Houston players, beginning with Alejandro Fuenmayor in the 14th minute and then Darwin Ceren and Alberth Ellis in stoppage time at the end of regulation. Head coach Wilmer Cabrera was also sent off at halftime. Diego Rubio scored the only goal of the game in the 74th minute, as Sporting KC dominated possession (61%) and outshot the Dyanmo 14-9 (4-4 on target). Houston did have a number of chances in the second half despite being a man down but was not able to score. Sporting KC visits an LAFC team that took a 2-1 loss at New York against the Red Bulls on Sunday. Daniel Rover opened the scoring for the Red Bulls in the 39th minute, with Diego Rossi delivering the equalizer in the 53rd minute. Royer completed the brace in the 80th minute, as the Red Bulls outshot LAFC 14-9 (5-3 on target) despite possessing for just 46% of the game. LAFC looked tentative in pushing the ball forward and will need to do more to beat Sporting KC at home. Soccer Betting Prediction: Sporting KC 2, LAFC 2

Sunday, August 12

MLS: FC Dallas at Seattle (10:00pm ET)

Seattle delivered a come-from-behind win in Minnesota on Saturday against Minnesota United, as they surrendered a goal to Darwin Quintero in the 19th minute but needed extra time and a penalty in the second half to get the equalizer from Nicolas Lodeiro, and then they got the game-winner later in extra time from Will Bruin. Seattle poured on the pressure, possessing 65% of the game and outshooting Minnesota United 23-12 (6-3 on target). They also forced 11 corners to Minnesota’s four. FC Dallas looks like their typical summer swoon may be on the way, as they took a 3-1 home loss against San Jose, who is at the bottom of the Western Conference and won just their third game of the season. Goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez made a couple of ridiculous mistakes to give up early goals in each half, and while Dallas was able to equalize in the first half, San Jose put in two more in the second half. FC Dallas does not usually play well in Seattle, and this is about the time of year when their early-season fortunes start to turn south. Soccer Betting Prediction: Seattle 3, FC Dallas 1