Chris Boline
New England Revolution look like the safe option for MLS bettors as they take on Orlando City
Who do Bettors Favor?
Checking out the best-rated online sportsbooks we can see that New England Revolution are widely regarded as big favorites against their Eastern Conference rivals here. Bruce Arena’s team are as short as -151 with some bookmakers, while Orlando are priced at +370 and higher. Alternatively, if you fancy the visitors to earn a draw, you can back the tie at +300.
| New England v Orlando |  |  |  |
| New England | -140 | -151 | -149 |
| Draw | +300 | +306 | +300 |
| Orlando | +395 | +370 | +370 |
New England Revival
New England has won five, drawn four, and lost five of its 14 MLS games this season, for a total of 19 points, good for eighth place in the standings heading into the next round of games.
Still, that’s quite a decline compared to last season. The 2021 team finished top of the Eastern Conference, winning the Supporters’ Shield with an impressive 73 points, a full 19 points clear of their nearest rivals, Philadelphia Union.
New England fans won’t need any reminding what happened next. Arena’s team got as far as the Conference semi-finals, but were knocked out by New York City FC in a game that went to penalties after the two teams finished level at the end of normal time.
That disappointment has taken some time to recover from and that may explain their slow start to the season. Notably, the Revs have lacked any consistency at home so far this season, with a record of three wins, two draws and two defeats in their seven games at the Gillette Stadium.
But there are clear signs of improvement. They are unbeaten in MLS since April, going six games unbeaten, including three victories, the most recent of which was a solid 2-1 win in Kansas.
Orlando Riding High
Orlando City have been part of MLS for seven years, and have enjoyed their best two seasons most recently, finishing fourth in 2020 and sixth last year, though they have yet to make any impact on the playoffs in their last two visits.
They have once again made a solid start, picking up 21 points from 14 league games, which has been good enough for fifth place in the table, two points ahead of New England and only five points behind New York City FC, who currently lead MLS. With three more league games to come before the end of the month, they have the chance to close that gap, starting against New England.
However, it is worth pointing out that they don’t have a great record against New England. They’ve met 15 times in MLS and Orlando have won only three, the last of which was in September 2017. They also suffered defeat in their latest MLS outing, a 3-1 loss to Dallas at the end of May.
MLS Betting Team News
Due to a leg injury, New England will be without Henry Kessler, but the Revolution are generally in good shape heading into Wednesday’s game. Jonathan Bell could replace Omar Gonzalez in the middle of the defense, but the rest of the lineup will likely be unchanged from the game against Sporting Kansas City.
Gustavo Bou has scored twice this season and should continue to lead the line, with Carles Gill playing in the number ten role again for New England.
Antonio Carlos is still unavailable for selection due to a hamstring problem, while Silvester van der Water is also expected to miss the game on account of a leg injury.
We may see Alexandre Pato start on the bench once again, with Ercan Kara, who has four goals this season, leading the line. Facundo Torres along with Tesho Akindele are also expected to be on the bench on Wednesday, so Junior Urso may be able to keep his place in the starting line-up.
Back New England in the MLS Betting Markets
Based on league positions, there is not a lot to choose between these two teams, but there are some factors that incline us towards New England over the visitors.
First of all, there is the question of form. New England were back in action after the international break at the weekend, and they continued their recent improvement with a solid victory in Kansas. By contrast, Orlando have not played a competitive game since the end of May. And while they are ahead of New England in the table, their last few games suggest that they heading for another mid-table season, losing to two of the better teams in MLS – Dallas and Montreal and beating lowly Toronto and Charlotte.
Goals have been a problem for Orlando. They’ve scored five in their last four MLS games and that isn’t going to be enough to keep them in playoff contention given that their defense is adequate at best. While New England had a slow start to the season, it is not that long ago that they were dominating MLS, and now that they are finding their feet, they could be hard to stop this season.
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