MLS Picks for Week 8
A derby in Los Angeles steals the headlines this week in Week 8 of the MLS schedule. It should be another exciting week around the league.
To help with your , we’re back with our picks for the weekend.
D.C. United (+250) at Montreal (-110)
Two of the bottom three in the Eastern Conference meet here with Montreal at D.C. United.
Montreal has conceded 16 goals already this season from just six games and it's unlikely to keep a shutout as a result.
D.C. hasn't scored in its past two games, making it a tough game to call, so we're going for a score tie.
PICK: Over 1.5 goals and a tie is +324 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Colorado Rapids (+240) at Charlotte (-105)
The Colorado Rapids may be in 11th of the Western Conference, but it comes into this game after a tie with Austin and Los Angeles and a win over Sporting Kansas City.
At the same time, Charlotte lost 3-1 to Real Salt Lake last week and hasn't won since beating Orlando City 2-1 in Florida in March.
Despite being the favorite, we think a tie is in order after this run of form.
PICK: A tie is +250 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Houston Dynamo (+400) at New York Red Bulls (-160)
The Houston Dynamo are huge underdogs to win at the New York Red Bulls, but we disagree.
So far, the Dynao has beaten Austin, New York City and LA Galaxy by scoring six goals and getting a shutout against them all.
Indeed, all these have been at home, but the Red Bulls have won only one game in seven matches and scored just five goals.
We’re picking an upset of the odds here.
PICK: Houston Dynamo to win 2-1, 3-1 or 4-1 is +1200 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
New England (+260) at Columbus Crew (-105)
The Columbus Crew continued its excellent goalscoring form last weekend by beating D.C. 2-0 to make it 12 goals in the past three games with all nine points collected.
New England was smashed 4-0 by Los Angeles last time out, and all signs point to another win for the Crew.
PICK: Columbus to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 is +300 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Atlanta United (+160) at Toronto (+150)
Atlanta heads into this game off a very topsy-turvy run so far after beating the Portland Timbers 5-1 and a 6-1 loss to Columbus a week later. It managed to beat the Red Bulls and tie with New York City soon after those games.
Toronto will head into this one with just one win on the board, although it has lost only once and we think it could tie again here.
PICK: A tie is +220 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Nashville (+260) at New York City (-105)
New York City comes into this game with its early hopes of winning the Eastern Conference title in dire straits after just two wins in seven games.
Nashville has secured one more win and it has the best defensive record in the league, with just two goals conceded.
With this in mind, New York likely won’t score more than two goals.
PICK: Under 2.5 goals in the game.
Vancouver Whitecaps (+260) at Austin (-115)
The Vancouver Whitecaps will struggle to beat Austin after losing 6-0 on aggregate to Los Angeles in the CONCACAF Champions League. The 3-0 loss on Wednesday means it has won just three games in nine matches so far.
Ironically, Austin also lost 3-0 to LAFC last weekend, but back at the Q2 Stadium, it's likely to get all three points.
PICK: Austin to win 2-0 is +1000 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Philadelphia Union (+145) at Chicago Fire (+165)
The Chicago Fire continued to surprise MLS fans with another win last weekend against Minnesota United and this now means just one loss in six games so far.
Philadelphia has struggled this season, and it squeezed past Atlas in the CONCACAF Champions League in midweek on a 3-2 aggregate scoreline.
Both teams have let in a combined 18 goals from 14 games, so expect goals in this one.
PICK: Kacper Przybylko to score anytime and Chicago to win is +373 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Real Salt Lake (+330) at Dallas (-135)
Real Salt Lake returned to winning ways with a fantastic 3-1 victory against Charlotte. However, it lost 4-0 to St. Louis City and 4-0 against Columbus before that win, and we think it loses at Dallas.
Dallas has won three games so far and scored nine goals and Salt Lake is the worst defensive team in the Western Conference, with 14 allowed.
PICK: Both teams to score, over 2.5 goals and Dallas to win is +247 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Orlando City (+220) at Minnesota United (+110)
Minnesota United lost for the first time last week as it was defeated at Chicago.
Before this, it won at St. Louis, and against an Orlando team that has scored just five goals in six games. We're picking it to get another win.
PICK: Minnesota Utd to win 2-1, 3-1 or 4-1 is +460 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Cincinnati (+180) at St. Louis City (+130)
St. Louis’ excellent start to life in MLS has taken a hit in recent weeks with back-to-back losses that has seen it concede four goals and score zero against Minnesota and Seattle Sounders.
It takes on the only unbeaten side left in the Eastern Conference, and Cincinnati has now won five games after three 1-0 victories in a row against Nashville, Inter Miami and Philadelphia Union.
Just two points separate these two, and we think this equals a tie in St. Louis.
PICK: A tie is +230 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Seattle Sounders (+125) at Portland Timbers (+185)
It's six games without a win for Portland since beating Kansas in Week 1, and it's likely to lose again against a Seattle team on a three-game winning run that has seen it score nine goals and concede just two.
Seattle is already top of the Western Conference and is 11 points clear of Portland. In truth, it should be another comfortable win.
PICK: Seattle to win at half time and full time and Raul Ruidiaz to score anytime is +504 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Sporting Kansas City (+220) at San Jose Earthquakes (+105)
Winless Kansas will aim to score just its third goal of the season at San Jose Earthquakes. Kansas has also let in eight goals in seven games and was beaten by Colorado last weekend.
Despite the odds suggesting a closer game than many may have predicted, San Jose should win easily here.
PICK: San Jose to win, over 2.5 goals and Jeremy Ebobisse to score anytime is +453 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Los Angeles (+130) at LA Galaxy (+180)
It's edition number 18 of El Tráfico to conclude this game week after the game was postponed because of bad weather in February.
Since the postponement, LAFC has gone on another unbeaten run that has seen it score 12 goals and concede only three, just as the Galaxy remains winless in what is its worst-ever start to an MLS season.
Despite it being a derby, we see nothing but a convincing LAFC win.
PICK: LAFC to win, over 2.5 goals in the game, Carlos Vela and Chicharito to score anytime is +1114 with FanDuel Sportsbook.
