MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER nut Will Dyer (@W2Dyer) is back with more best bets from across the pond.
Seattle Sounders v Portland Timbers | Sunday 21.30 | Sky Sports 5
I’ve been pretty adamant that Seattle will turn it around and so far just ended up with egg on my face but against Portland, who find it hard to get goals on their travels, I think the Sounders stand a good chance of getting a result, finally.
For all their recent problems, the Sounders have only conceded 10 in 13 home games at CenturyLink Field this season and that ties in nicely with the fact that Portland have managed just nine away in 13 games. Nat Borchers defied us last weekend with a 95th minute winner in Salt Lake City but other than that Portland were on the receiving end most of the game and offered little in attack.
I think Seattle could win this but with Clint Dempsey still sidelined and Obafemi Martins not guaranteed to do well without his strike partner, I’m going to opt for Seattle to keep a clean sheet at a chunkier price than the home win (19/10 Coral).
Timbers have failed to register in four of their last six visits in the league to the Pacific North West and Sounders have one of the best back fours around.
New York City v Columbus Crew | Saturday 21.00 | Sky Sports 5
The bookies have made Both Teams To Score and goals-based bets almost unbackable in some MLS fixtures lately and this is a prime example with quotes of 1/3. Five of Columbus Crew’s last six and seven of NYC’s last 10 games have seen four or more goals so I considered going for Over 3.5 Goals but at just 6/5, and evens in most places, that just isn’t a great price.
New York City were hammered by LA Galaxu in the second half, as predicted. Their defence is a real weak point and simply having the likes of David Villa and Andrea Pirlo in your side will not guarantee you points. Their problem is that, the quality is not spread evenly through their team.
Crew have lost just one of their last seven MLS games and scored two or more in all of their last six to thrust themselves to a clear third in the Conference. I fully expect them to score two again at Yankee Stadium and it seems very likely that Kei Kamara will be amongst the goals as usual; he has 18 in 25 appearances this season.
Another player right amongst the goals (even if plenty of them are penalties) is David Villa; the Spanish legend has 15 goals in 23 games and should take advantage of Crew’s weak defensive record on the road; only Philly have conceded more away from home this season. So, goals are on the cards and we have two of MLS’ finest frontmen squaring off.
Skybet have a lovely market available which I used to my advantage earlier in the season when landing a Shaun Maloney and Sebastian Giovinco anytime double. That was a longshot at 18/1, Kamara and Villa both scoring isn’t as unlikely and looks a great price to me at 9/2 (Skybet).
Philadelphia Union v New England Revolution | Sunday 00.00
It’s not surprise that Jermaine Jones return from injury and Lee Nguyen’s improved form has coincided with an upturn in New England Revolution’s fortunes of late; unbeaten in four games after weathering a spell of six defeats on the bounce in all competitions.
Philadelphia Union got extremely lucky last weekend with a 1-0 win in Montreal thanks to a late goal from Sebastian Le Toux. They were out-shot 16-2 and had just 35% possession at the Stade Saputo. They conceded three last time they played at PPL Park and have already lost there to New England once this season back in April.
It looks like there are five teams battling it out for sixth place and final play-off berth but in reality that should be Montreal’s for the taking with four games in hand over the likes of Philadelphia. New England have a chance to get home advantage or better still a bye to the next round if they can keep this form going.
Philly’s best chance of a successful season is to win the US Open Cup final in a month’s time so my money is on Revs winning an MLS fixture at PPL Park for the third time in a row at 12/5 with Bet365.
FC Dallas v Real Salt Lake | Sunday 02.00
Real Salt Lake, as previously mentioned, could have a poor end to season after losing their hitman Alvaro Saborio to Eastern Conference leaders DC United. They’ve never been a great away side and that is highlighted perfectly by Dallas’ home record against them since 2005 reading W12-D2-L1.
Prior to defeat against LA, Dallas had won seven of their last eight games in Texas and with Real losing their last six road games on the bounce, this is a no-brainer.
Salt Lake have the worst defensive record in the West with 38 conceded in 26 games – four more than anyone else – but Dallas haven’t been rattling the goals in recently so I’ll keep this simple with the standard home win at 7/10 with BetVictor.
Best Bets
Seattle Sounders v Portalnd Timbers – Seattle Sounders to keep a clean sheet (19/10 Coral)
New York City v Columbus Crew – David Villa and Kei Kamara both to score (9/2 Skybet)
Philadelphia Union v New England Revolution – New England Revolution to win (12/5 Bet365)
FC Dallas v Real Salt Lake – FC Dallas to win (7/10 BetVictor)
WLB Readers Get A £200 Bonus From Bet365
Bet365 have promised a 100% deposit bonus for all new customers from WeLoveBetting, up to £200.
Sign-up via any of the Bet365 links on this page and you'll be entitled to this mega bonus offer.
Our pals at Bet365 have also secured the rights to provide live streaming of EVERY La Liga match in 2015/16 so you won’t miss a minute of the action!
