Atlanta United v Seattle Sounders

The first of the MLS matches to begin on Saturday evening comes from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium as Atlanta United host Seattle Sounders in a battle between two big names in the competition. 

Both teams head into the match needing a win too, although the midweek win of Seattle Sounders will just have eased their need for another three points here a touch, yet they still only sit seventh in the Western Conference so a postseason spot is anything but safe at present. 

Atlanta have a much stronger need for the points here as they have fallen right out of play-off contention and need to put a run of form together if they are going to extend their campaign. 

We know all about the Atlanta injuries and with key figures in the hierarchy moving and new appointments to be made, the ‘five stripes’ are undergoing a fair deal of change right now. That is never ideal during a season. 

The fact that both teams could use the three points makes me think that we’ll get one of those open and attacking contests that MLS is famous for. Atlanta are in the position where they need to take risks to win the game because draws aren’t going to get them back in the top seven. 

Seattle can sit on the counter and get at Atlanta that way should they so wish, although their defence isn’t the most reliable and the one thing the home side here do have at their disposal is a wealth of attacking options. With both teams looking to win I think the best bet here is both teams to score in a match where attacks are likely to dominate defences.

---

Charlotte FC v Chicago Fire

Charlotte FC have been the third-best home side in the Eastern Conference and are tied for fifth-best in MLS with 24 points from their first 11 matches at Bank of America Stadium.

And there’s reason to believe in their unusually strong edge at home. Charlotte are second in all of MLS in average attendance at more than 36,000 per game in their first season, in one of the few American cities where MLS clubs don’t compete with Major League Baseball for attention.

Their artificial playing surface might also be playing a role and if there were concerns from punters that Charlotte’s early home results were more good fortune than good performance, they should be dissipating. Since caretaker manager Christian Lattanzio took over, his side have only won three of four at home and also exceeded opponents in expected goals at a rate that would put them fourth in the East in home expected goal difference if projected over the whole season.

Chicago are unbeaten in their last four, and those who abide by expected goals and other analytical measures might believe they are due for an uptick in form but the recent performances don’t really suggest that — especially not a dour 0-0 home draw against an Atlanta United side that has exactly one away win.

And Chicago have only eight points from their travels despite benefiting from a weaker away schedule so far. That changes now. Saturday’s trip to Charlotte is the first of four against teams holding one of the seven East playoff places to close the season

Don’t overthink this one. Charlotte are a good home side. The Fire aren’t very good away. And any concerns about Charlotte’s underlying numbers should be balanced by the understanding those numbers have improved with time. Take the home side on the money line.

---

---

DC United v New York Red Bulls

Heading into the early hours of Sunday morning two Eastern Conference teams meet in a big match at Audi Field as DC United host high flying New York Red Bulls in what should be another entertaining contest. 

DC United have had a busy week having produced late heroics to see off Orlando City last weekend before going down tamely in Charlotte in midweek. They know that if they are going to put a run of form together to push for the postseason then home wins will be key. 

New York Red Bulls have suddenly been part of two crazy matches with their last two MLS outings being a 4-3 win at Austin FC before a 5-4 defeat to the Colorado Rapids in midweek. 

That has left the Red Bulls in fourth place in the table and while their top seven position looks secure they will want to revert to something like their best form heading into the play-offs, while Wayne Rooney will be looking for his DC side to keep on improving. 

We saw in that win over Orlando last week that DC are going to be good to watch under Rooney. They look light at the back but he is utilising the attacking options that he has at his disposal. 

The Red Bulls have shown that they too have a wealth of attacking talent recently but their defence has gone AWOL and you wouldn’t think a few days will be enough to turn that around so I expect to see more than 2.5 goals here.

---

CF Montreal v Inter Miami

There is MLS action in Canada this weekend as well as CF Montreal host Inter Miami in a match which sees two teams in decent form colliding at Saputo Stadium. 

Montreal have made their way up to third in the Eastern Conference and are looking good to host a postseason match, while Miami have moved into eighth with their midweek win in San Jose and another victory here could move them into the top seven which is where they will want to become the end of the season. 

That win in midweek came at a cost though because Gonzalo Higuain and Leo Campana both left the match with injuries and that pair have accounted for 15 of the 27 goals Inter Miami have notched this term. 

Phil Neville has all but ruled Campana out of this match and has classed Higuain as a major doubt. He finished with Alejandro Pozuelo in a false nine role in San Jose which probably isn’t ideal and with that match taking place on Wednesday night there won’t have been much time to come up with a better game plan.

That is all less than ideal for Miami but then you have to consider the travel too. They were in California on Wednesday evening and then have to be in the heart of Canada on Saturday evening local time so the visitors have to be up against it here. 

What also isn’t going to help the Floridians in this outing is that Montreal have won three of their last four matches in MLS and drawn the other so they are in decent form, which has coincided with the return of Djordje Mihailovic. 

Montreal are a team on the up and they look to have the ideal opponent to continue their recent good form against. Plenty is weighted in favour of a home win here.

---

Nashville SC v Toronto FC

Oddsmakers are beginning to catch up with the sudden improvement in Toronto FC’s squad since they added three Italian stars headlined by Lorenzo Insigne.

Even so, there’s reason to back the visitors to earn at least a point when they make a visit to Nashville SC’s GEODIS Park. For starters, Toronto have earned draws (over 90 minutes) in their last two away fixtures in all competitions despite missing defensive midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye. The Canada international doesn’t have the pedigree of Insigne, Federicico Bernardeschi or Domenec Criscito, or even American midfielder Michael Bradley. But he might be the most important piece of Toronto’s revamped setup, doing the dirty work in midfield to free Bradley to link up with his new attacking teammates. He could return from a minor injury on Saturday night in central Tennessee after he was questionable but did not play in last weekend’s 0-0 draw at New England.

Then there’s the schedule, which has given Toronto a full week of training while Nashville had to make the long trip to Portland in midweek to play a 1-1 draw against the Timbers. Nashville manager Gary Smith appeared to prioritize the intraconference game with his lineup, making Saturday’s game one where he might rotate his squad. That includes team scoring leader Hany Mukhtar, who played 162 minutes across Nashville’s last two matches. Lastly, the Coyotes haven’t quite enjoyed the same home form at their brand new stadium the way they did in 2021 when they were unbeaten while sharing Nissan Stadium with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.

In 2022, Nashville have dropped home points on seven of 10 occasions. Combine all of that together and it’s enough to back the visitors to take something from this one.

---

---

Austin FC v San Jose Earthquakes

One of the later matches to kick off over the course of the weekend comes from Texas where two Western Conference sides meet as Austin FC take on lowly San Jose Earthquakes in a key match. 

Austin FC look set for action beyond the conclusion of the regular season with a 12-point buffer between them and the team one outside the play-off places but they are determined to chase down Los Angeles FC and get a bye in the first week of the final stages of the campaign. 

That isn’t going to be an easy task given how good LAFC are looking but they have the chance of a win here. That is because San Jose have one win on their travels all season and that came in a derby clash with LA Galaxy, who are a little too hit or miss for their liking. 

San Jose go into this match off the back of a midweek home loss to Inter Miami which will have halted any thoughts they have of reaching the postseason. They have now lost three of their last four outings and look to be playing out time this term. 

That certainly isn’t the case for Austin, who have generally been good at home and will be looking for another three points. They had their feet up in midweek while the Earthquakes were losing that game against Miami. 

With the better side, home advantage and freshness on their side, Austin FC look a decent bet to pick up three points here. 

---

Portland Timbers v FC Dallas

The final match to kick off in the MLS weekend does so at Providence Park where the Portland Timbers will go up against FC Dallas in a clash which given the positions of the two teams in the Western Conference we could see again come the postseason. 

Portland sit outside the play-off places on wins but they are a side making good momentum forward and are undefeated in nine matches, while FC Dallas sit fourth in the table despite their midweek defeat to Seattle Sounders. 

Portland are renowned to be good at home and go into this match with just two defeats in 12 at Providence Park, although they are undefeated in five home outings and given that they have a huge squad they shouldn’t be too inconvenienced by playing in midweek. 

The positive for Portland is that they were at home in midweek and while a draw with Nashville SC isn’t what they wanted, it isn’t a terrible result. 

The schedule has been a lot less kind to Dallas who had to play in Seattle on Tuesday evening and then in Portland on Saturday night local time so that is a lot of travelling and they have to overcome a defeat too. 

Dallas did add Sebastian Lletget to their roster on deadline day but it is unclear whether he will feature here, and even if he does he is likely to only do so from the bench. 

Portland are going along very well at present whereas Dallas have only won two of their last 10 matches. The visitors have only scored three goals in their last five outings so they have dried up and that makes me think if there is a winner here it will be the home team.

---

18+ please gamble responsibly.

---

Back the Four and Five Star Selections as an Accumulator on Betfair ⬇️

*Bet link only appears when accessing from mobile.

---

Haven’t got a Betfair account? You’re in luck…

Sign up to Betfair and get a full refund if your first bet loses. Grab an account through the offer below and place £20 on the 46/1 MLS Best Bets Accumulator. Here are the two possible outcomes: