Major League Soccer Betting Tips from our Experts
MLS BETTING TIPS 2024
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 2024 season will see 29 clubs taking part, 15 in the Eastern Conference and 14 in the Western Conference, with the top nine teams in each conference earning a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Starting in 2025, San Diego FC will join as a new expansion team, bringing the total to 30 teams and an even 15/15 split. The defending MLS Cup champions are the Columbus Crew who beat the 2022 champions LAFC 2-1 in the final.
Columbus finished the regular season as the highest scoring team in the league with 67 goals in 34 matches. They would ultimately finish third in the East standings but caught fire at the perfect time en route to a third MLS Cup title. They'll now attempt to become just the fourth team to successfully defend their crown and the first since the 2012 LA Galaxy.
One of the biggest stories of the 2023 season was the incredible performance from St. Louis City SC, who were playing their first ever season in the MLS. St. Louis City would go on to finish first in the Western Conference, cementing themselves as one of the best expansion teams in the history of the league. The MLS is unique from many European leagues as they do not implement a relegation system.
Once again, all eyes are on Inter Miami who are getting the old Barcelona band back together in an attempt to deliver the David Beckham owned team a first MLS Cup title. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have a chance for a special season should they all stay healthy. The bookmakers clearly think they have more than enough firepower with betting sites listing the Herons as the favorites for the title.
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 previous 2023 MLS season:
- Home win percentage: 48%
- Draw percentage: 29%
- Away win percentage: 23%
- Average goals per match: 2.76
- Average goals scored by home team: 1.69
- Average goals scored by away team: 1.07
- Over 1.5 goals: 77%
- Over 2.5 goals: 55%
- Over 3.5 goals: 30%
- Both teams to score (BTTS): 56%
- Most common half time score: 0-0 (30.9%)
- Most common full time score: 1-1 (12.9%)
- Total goals scored in first half: 45%
- Total goals scored in second half: 55%
- Most frequent total goals number: 3 (24.8%)
- Half time over 0.5 goals: 69%
- Half time over 1.5 goals: 38%
MLS: Our free prediction for the 2024 Season
The Columbus Crew showed their class last season and have all the pieces still in place for a repeat performance. Led by one of the best head coaches in the MLS in Wilfried Nancy as well as one of the premier pure goalscorers in the division in Cucho Hernandez, if the Crew come out of the gates hot, this price will look like a steal come playoff time.
The Seattle Sounders are also on our radar for the 2024 season. Seattle are well-equipped to improve upon last season's strong finish and this team is deep enough to be able to challenge for both the MLS Cup as well as the Supporters' Shield. The Sounders finished with the league's best defence last season and added exciting Argentinian talent Pedro de la Vega, a club record signing, in the offseason to bolster the attack. With players such as Jordan Morris, Raul Ruidiaz, Cristian Roldan, de la Vega and the usual strong defence, we're expecting the Sounders to be in the title conversation all season long. Our 2024 MLS Cup predictions are the Columbus Crew and the Seattle Sounders! Be sure to take advantage of the best odds and get your bets in now before!
Here are the latest odds for all MLS teams:
Latest Odds to win the MLS Cup
- Inter Miami - 2.37
- LA Galaxy - 4.00
- Los Angeles FC - 7.00
- Seattle Sounders - 15.00
- Columbus Crew - 17.00
- FC Cincinnati - 17.00
- New York Red Bulls - 26.00
- Minnesota United - 26.00
- Orlando City - 26.00
- Houston Dynamo - 41.00
- Real Salt Lake - 51.00
- New York City FC - 51.00
- Vancouver Whitecaps 67.00
- Charlotte FC - 101.00
- Atlanta United - 201.00
- Colorado Rapids - 501.00
Odds taken from Bet365 prices correct as of 01/11/2024
