Dean Etheridge
This Wednesday night sees New York Red Bulls clash with New York City in the MLS Eastern Conference.
The derby match promises to be a cracker, so here is our match preview along with our latest MLS betting picks.
Before we get to our match preview though, let’s take a look at the latest goings-on in the MLS Eastern Conference.
MLS Cup 2021 Betting
At the top of the table, New England Revolution leads the way and is now 15 points clear of second place Nashville.
Bruce Arena’s team has won six of its last eight matches.
The six wins were only broken up by a 2-0 defeat away to New York City in late August. And then on Saturday, the Revolution had a record-equalling 33 shots on goal against Columbus but could only manage a 1-1 draw.
“It’s a lesson for us to be ruthless”
— xyz – New England Revolution (@NERevolution) September 19, 2021
The result was a setback, and head coach Bruce Arena was quick to point out that with eight regular-season matches still to go, now is not the time to ease off.
New England is still the outright favorite to win the MLS Cup 2021. Top sportsbooks have them at +500 for the title.
| MLS Cup 2021 Outright Winner Betting |  |  |
| New England Revolution | +500 | +500 |
| Seattle Sounders | +700 | +600 |
| Sporting Kansas | +800 | +800 |
| Nashville | +900 | +900 |
| Colorado Rapids | +1000 | +1100 |
| Los Angeles FC | +1100 | +1200 |
| New York City FC | +1400 | +1400 |
Nashville sits second in the conference on 41 points, but it’s behind them that the action is really heating up.
Five teams are separated by just 3 points between 3rd and 7th. While between 3rd and 10th, just 7 points separate the eight teams.
Of those eight teams, form side Inter Miami has seen their recent brilliant run come to an abrupt end at the hands of the New York Red Bulls.
After winning five and drawing one of their last six, Phil Neville’s side was cut down to size by the Red Bulls. In their defense, they did have to play with ten men from the 38th minute after Jorge Figal saw red.
It has been some recovery by Miami of late under Neville. Before the Englishman’s arrival, they could barely buy a win, and any chance of the play-offs looked like a distant dream. That has all changed now.
Miami does have a chance to get their play-off dream back on track this Wednesday when they host second in the table Nashville.
Anyway, now it’s time to look ahead to the New York derby!
New York Red Bulls v New York City Preview and Picks
- Venue – Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey, USA
- Date – 22nd September 2021
- KO Time – 8pm
This will be the first time these two teams have met this season.
Red Bulls form isn’t great
The Red Bulls sit 11th in the Eastern Conference. They have just 26 points from 23 fixtures.
They do have a couple of games in hand on some of the sides directly above them. But they really need to start winning now if they are to have any chance of reaching the MLS play-offs.
The recent form has been scratchy. In August they won one, drew one, and lost three.
They then picked up just 1 point from their opening two matches in September, before thrashing Inter Miami 4-0 last weekend.
With form like that, who knows what to expect.
The Boys in Blue can’t afford many more slip-ups
As for New York City, they sit third in the league table.
They are 3 points behind second-place Nashville, but just 3 points ahead of seventh-place Philadelphia, such is the tightness of the conference.
In their last four fixtures, they’ve won one, drawn one, and lost two. To be fair, the two defeats were away to New England (2-1) and also away at Nashville (3-1).
In three of their last four matches, they’ve also had a man sent off. Not a great statistic just ahead of back-to-back derbies that are set to be fiercely contested.
No surprise given the league positions and recent form that New York City is the betting favorite with the sportsbooks.
| New York Red Bulls v New York City | | |
| Red Bulls | +220 | +230 |
| Draw | +260 | +250 |
| New York City | +110 | +100 |
At odds of +110, I think that Ronny Deila’s side could be well worth a bet. And I make a win for New York City my first betting pick!
For my second pick, I’m going to be a touch more adventurous, so with this in mind, I’m recommending you look at using one of our great betting bonuses.
New York City’s last four matches have seen both teams score. While for the Red Bulls, both teams to score have come in twice in their last three matches.
I think it’s well worth a bet on both teams to score in this match, but at odds of just -200 it’s not great value.
Combining that with my first pick though makes the bet far more valuable.
Odds of +250 on both teams to score and New York City to win is far more attractive, and that makes it my second MLS betting pick.
If New York City win to nil, you will still be in profit if you use the same stakes. And if you use a betting bonus for the second pick, you will be well in the money.
Don’t forget for more information on our MLS soccer betting guide. You won’t be disappointed!
