Major League Soccer Betting Tips from our Experts
MLS BETTING TIPS 2023
Betting on the MLS is always an exciting opportunity - between the regular season, the playoffs and the MLS Cup final, there’s plenty of action due to take place over the course of the season.
Major League Soccer (MLS) sees teams from both America and Canada (mainly America) battling it out in two conferences and then the MLS Cup playoffs. The 2023 season will see 29 clubs battling it out for a spot in the playoffs which are afforded to the top nine teams in each conference. The defending MLS Cup champions are Los Angeles FC who beat the Philadelphia Union in last season's final via a penalty shootout after a wild finish.
Los Angeles FC also won the Supporters Shield in 2022, the more traditional style of trophy awarded to the team who finishes with the best record in the regular season. LAFC became the first team since Toronto in 2017 to win the Shield and MLS Cup double and achieved the feat for only the eighth time in the history of the league.
New to the MLS this year are St. Louis City SC, who are playing in the Western Conference. St. Louis City are the surprise team of the year so far, exceeding even the wildest of expectations as they lead the Western Conference heading into the final third of the regular season. The addition of St. Louis City means that the Western Conference now has 14 teams while the Eastern Conference moves to 15 with Nashville switching back over. The MLS is unique from many European leagues as they do not implement a relegation system. Los Angeles FC (now without Gareth Bale) will be bidding to become the first side since LA Galaxy in 2012 to win the MLS Cup in two successive seasons.
However, all eyes will be on Inter Miami when the teams return after the Leagues Cup tournament do to the sensational signing of the legendary Lionel Messi. La Pulga is putting on an absolute clinic so far with his new team, leading Inter Miami to the Leagues Cup trophy and providing fans of the sport a taste of what is to come in the domestic campaign.
MLS: THE STATISTICS TO KNOW
Statistics can help you get wins when betting on the MLS. Here is a selection of the top stats for the ongoing 2023 MLS season.
- Home win percentage: 49%
- Draw percentage: 28%
- Away win percentage: 23%
- Average goals per match: 2.68
- Average goals scored by home team: 1.67
- Average goals scored by away team: 1.01
- Over 2.5 goals: 55%
- Under 2.5 goals : 45%
- Both teams to score: 54%
- Most common half time score: 0-0 (31.9%)
- Most common full time score: 2-1 (either side - 17.6%)
- Total goals scored in first half: 43%
- Total goals scored in second half: 57%
- Most frequent total goals number: 3 (25.8%)
- Half time over 0.5 goals: 68%
- Half time over 1.5 goals: 37%
MLS: Our free prediction for the 2023 Season
The 2023 MLS season has already thrown up a number of stunning results, performances and big player transfers and there's plenty more to come! The teams will resume action on August 19th as we enter the final stretch of the regular season. There's still plenty of action to go with the MLS Cup Playoffs starting on October 25 and concluding on December 9. Los Angeles FC are having a strong season and look to be in a good position to defend their MLS Cup title. Despite all-time leading goalscorer Carlos Vela starting to get up there in age, the Mexican maestro can still produce match-winning performances. With Denis Bouanga coming into his own as a deadly goalscoring threat and some intriguing recent signings in Cristian Olivera and Mario Gonzalez, LAFC are gearing up for another title run.
They can again expect to see tough opposition from Philadelphia Union who came so close to winning the MLS Cup last season. Cincinnati have been the pick of the bunch so far this year with the MLS best record and will provide stern opposition should the two teams wind up meeting in the MLS Cup Final. St. Louis City will likely battle it out with LAFC for the top spot in the West but can they really keep up their remarkable results? Then there's the case of Inter Miami led by Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets. The former Barcelona duo will have to overcome a terrible current league position to sneak into the playoffs, but they would likely become considerable favorites should they make it. Can they pull it off? Be sure to take advantage of the best odds and get your bets in now! Here are the latest odds from the top half of teams:
Latest Odds
- FC Cincinnati - 5.50
- Inter Miami - 6.00
- LAFC - 8.00
- Philadelphia Union - 11.00
- Seattle Sounders - 12.00
- Columbus Crew - 13.00
- New England Revs - 13.00
- St. Louis City SC - 13.00
- Orlando City - 17.00
- Vancouver - 21.00
- Nashville SC - 23.00
- Atlanta United - 23.00
- Real Salt Lake - 26.00
- Houston Dynamo - 41.00
- FC Dallas - 51.00
- New York Red Bulls - 51.00
- Minnesota United - 51.00
- SJ Earthquakes - 67.00
- Austin FC - 67.00
- DC United - 67.00
- CF Montreal - 67.00
Odds taken from William Hill.
