Don’t look now, but the Philadelphia Union, one of the cellar dwellers in Major League Soccer last year, is tied for the lead in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer with D.C. United — and another perennial doormat, the Montreal Impact, are behind them in third. Last year’s MLS Cup champions, Atlanta United, sit nine points from the top — and in ninth place in the conference. In the Western Conference, things are going a little more normally, as LAFC is at the top of the table — but the Houston Dynamo are just five points back — with three matches in hand. The L.A. Galaxy are just two points off the lead, with a match in hand. Which matches should you consider in your MLS betting for the week? We have some suggestions for you here.
Top MLS Betting Picks of the Week – May 7th Edition
On the road again. 📍 Columbus, OH | @JLabAudio pic.twitter.com/AFbMgVtdz3
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) May 6, 2019
Wednesday, May 8
L.A. Galaxy at Columbus (7:30pm ET)
The Galaxy head to Columbus for a midweek showdown with the Crew after taking a frustrating loss in New York against the Red Bulls on Saturday. In that game, Amro Tarek opened the scoring for the Red Bulls in the 19th minute, but the Galaxy took the lead into halftime thanks to tallies from Uriel Antuna and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, New York came out after halftime and took charge, getting goals from Marc Rzatkowski and Derrick Etienne to take the win — despite the fact that the Galaxy possessed for almost two-thirds of the game and outshot the Red Bulls 22-14. The Galaxy have to be ready to get some redemption against the Crew.
Columbus also comes into the match ready to shake some frustration. The Crew outshot DC United 12-11 (but fell short 5-2 as far as being on target) and possessed for over half of the game, but they could only watch as the hosts got goals from Luciano Acosta, Wayne Rooney and Paul Arriola before and looked like they would be shut out before getting an own goal in the waning minutes. Can Columbus mount offensive pressure at home? Or will the Galaxy use their talent edge to roll to a win?
MLS Betting Prediction: Los Angeles 3, Columbus 1
Montreal Impact at N.Y. Red Bulls (8:00pm ET)
The Montreal Impact had their vision of contending in the Eastern Conference shaken a bit on Saturday when they took a 2-0 home loss against NYC FC on Saturday. Maximiliano Moralez opened the scoring in just the sixth minute, and then Ismael Tajouri delivered the insurance goal just after the intermission. Montreal lost the shooting battle 13-8 (5-0 on target) and will need to find better ways to finish if they want to beat the Red Bulls in New York.
As we mentioned earlier, the Red Bulls delivered a nice comeback win over the Galaxy on Saturday. Given the talent boost that the Galaxy got from signing Ibrahimovic, it was impressive that the Red Bulls were able to pull together and get a real team win.
MLS Betting Prediction: New York 2, Montreal 1
Friday, May 10
Portland at Vancouver (10:00pm ET)
Portland went to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and brought home a 2-1 win despite being outshot 16-7 (7-3 on target). The Timbers opened the scoring with a goal from Sebastian Blanco in the 34th minute, but Real Salt Lake drew level with a Sam Johnson tally in the 62nd minute. Six minutes later, though, Diego Valeri delivered the winner for Portland.
Now Portland has another road challenge on tap in Vancouver. They last played on May 3 and delivered a tough road win in Colorado. The Whitecaps got goals from Fredy Montero, Lucas Venuto and Andy Rose, enough to overcome a brace of penalties from Kei Kamara. It helped that Colorado had Diego Rubio sent off with a red card in the 77th minute. Can Vancouver hold off a feisty Portland team at home?
MLS Betting Prediction: Portland 2, Vancouver 2
