Dean Etheridge
There’s another exciting round of MLS fixtures coming up this weekend, with the top sides from both the Eastern and Western Conferences in action.
In the Eastern Conference, the New England Revolution seems to have now established itself as the dominant side.
While over in the Western, having started the season with a record run without defeat, Seattle Sounders are now getting dragged into a dogfight at the top of the table.
| Latest 2021 MLS Winner Betting |  |
| Seattle Sounders | +600 |
| Sporting Kansas City | +600 |
| New England Revolution | +700 |
| Orlando City | +800 |
| Los Angeles FC | +800 |
| Philadelphia Union | +1200 |
| New York City FC | +1600 |
| Nashville SC | +1600 |
| LA Galaxy | +2000 |
Check out our Live Betting page for information about betting on the MLS in-play.
What happened in the MLS Last Weekend?
Before we bring you our weekend expert MLS picks, let’s have a look back at some of the recent action in both conferences.
Eastern Conference
Starting in the Eastern Conference, and last weekend New England Revolution extended their lead at the top of the table to 7 points.
Bruce Arena’s New England side completed a 2-1 win over Montreal at the Gillette Stadium. Their third win in a row.
The 2-1 scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story though. Montreal had the better of the possession with 59%. They also had 20 attempts on goal, compared to New England’s 13.
In the end, the stat that counts is the scoreline, and like on so many occasions this season, New England came out on top there.
FT: Top of the East @NERevolution hold on to their lead and walk away with the win! #NEvMTL pic.twitter.com/eJRaCHVevW
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 26, 2021
Going into last weekend’s fixtures, and Orlando City sat in second place in the Eastern Conference. They were just 5 points behind New England, but with a game in hand.
Things went disastrously wrong for Orlando though. They were completely taken apart by New York City, losing 5-0 to Ronny Deila’s impressive NY team.
The thrashing saw Orlando lose second place in the conference to Nashville SC.
Gary Smith’s Nashville side completed a comfortable 3-0 home win over Cincinnati. A result which sees them climb above Orlando, and remain 7 points behind top-placed New England.
Western Conference
Having seemingly got over their minor blip, Seattle Sounders then went and lost their biggest match of the season last weekend.
Before the match against Sporting KC, Seattle had beaten Austin 1-0 in a tough away match at the Q2 Stadium. The win had seemingly put the conference leaders back on track after their unbeaten run was ended the previous week by Minnesota.
At home to Sporting Kansas City, the Sounders were hit with a sucker punch, losing 3-1 to Peter Vermes’ Kansas team.
The two teams were fairly evenly matched statistically, but Sporting was by far the more clinical in front of goal, and that was the difference.
The defeat now means that the Sounders have only won two of their last six MLS matches. Their recent form is 2-2-2.
The Sounders face San Jose Earthquakes this weekend, and this is an ideal match to get their season back on track. San Jose hasn’t won since 8th May, that’s 11 games without a win.
In recent weeks they have become hard to beat though. The Earthquakes have drawn their last 5 matches. Included in that run was an impressive 1-1 result away at Sporting KC last week.
In that match, Sporting only equalized right at the death, cruelly snatching a much-needed victory away from the Earthquakes.
Struggles continue for LA Galaxy
Elsewhere in the Western Conference, LA Galaxy’s recent struggles continued. The Galaxy got thumped 4-0 away at Dallas at the weekend, and this came on the back of a 2-2 draw away to Real Salt Lake in the previous round of fixtures.
Gregg Vanney’s team has had 3 matches running on the road now. They have lost two and drawn one. The Galaxy now finds themselves 7 points behind conference leaders Seattle.
Thankfully for LA Galaxy fans, they are finally back at home this weekend. They face Portland Timbers this Saturday evening. Gregg Vanney will be hoping that the Dignity Health Sports Park can see them get their season back on track.
It’s been a bit of a strange season so far for the Galaxy. They may well have only won one of their last five matches, but if they win their game in hand, they will only be 4 points behind Seattle. If they can get a mini-run going, they can be right back in the mix at the top of the conference.
MLS Betting Picks
Sticking with LA Galaxy, and goals seems to be the only thing that is certain in a Galaxy match these days. You could place a bet on them to lose, and they will go and win. The Galaxy is that sort of side.
- Match – LA Galaxy vs Portland Timbers
- Venue – Dignity Health Sports Park, LA
- Date – Friday 30th July
- Time – 7 pm EST
I do expect them to return to winning ways this weekend though, and if you think they will win, they are a decent-looking +110 to win this match.
In the goals markets, LA Galaxy vs Portland Timbers is -222.2 for over 2.5 goals, and +120 for over 3.5 goals. I can see over 2.5 winning, but the odds may be a touch short at -222.2.
For both teams to score the odds are -227.3, also a touch short looking to me.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the big clash sees New York Red Bulls hosting New England Revolution. The odds on New England to win the clash at the Red Bull Arena are +200, and I think that looks great value.
- Match – New York Red Bulls vs New England Revolution
- Venue – Red Bull Arena, New Jersey
- Date – Saturday 31st July
- Time – 6 pm EST
It’s a tricky fixture, but given the form Bruce Arena’s team is in, I believe it is a pick worth going with.
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