The quarter finals of the MLS is Back tournament get underway on Thursday night when the first of the four matches take place in Orlando as the Philadelphia Union take on Sporting Kansas City for a spot in the last four.
The winner of this match will know that they are just two wins away from a spot in the Champions League next season, so the stakes are getting incredibly high from here on in. That is sure to add to the competitiveness of the match.
The Format
The 26 MLS teams have now become 24 with FC Dallas and Nashville being withdrawn from the tournament after positive Covid tests. The remaining teams have been placed into six groups of four. Each team plays the other three in their group once in the group stage. The results of these matches not only count in this tournament but also towards the regular season when it resumes. At the end of the group stage the top two from each group and the four best third placed finishers go into a 16-team knockout stage. The entire tournament takes place in Orlando with the final scheduled for August 11. There is a Champions League place for the winners which should ensure it is competitive.
Where to watch
The match will be shown on Free Sports in the UK with the build up beginning at 1.05am and the match itself kicking off shortly after. You will also be able to watch the game on the live streams at the bookies sites.
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Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union have made their way through this tournament nicely so far. They are an unbeaten side and will fancy their chance of going all the way from here on in. The Union have a good record in the US Open Cup and this tournament is basically a second staging of that competition now, albeit on a neutral setting. Union have won three of their four matches to date with the only draw coming in a match where that was enough to qualify.
You can look at the Union in a couple of ways at the minute. The positive is that they look tough as teak defensively but if you wanted to be critical of them it would be that they have only found the net five times in their four matches. They are not a high scoring side at the best of times though but what they are is hard to break down and they general hold their nerve pretty well. I expect to see nothing different from them here.
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City have also played pretty well in this tournament. They have been playing near knockout football since their second match of the event after they collapsed in their first match against Minnesota United. Their defence is beginning to come to the fore which is a big thing for them, and having been all the way in the US Open Cup in the past, they will know how to navigate their way through a knockout draw.
If there is a concern for SKC, it would be that they are not clinical enough in the top area of the pitch. It is fine when their defence remains tight but should they run into a free scoring side at any point then you would be concerned. It is also a concern that they needed a penalty shootout to see off a pretty ordinary Vancouver Whitecaps in the previous round. You can never rule Sporting Kansas City off but there is a sense they are not quite firing on all cylinders just yet.
Betting
I’m surprised the bookmakers favour Sporting Kansas City as much as they do here. I’m not saying that they won’t win the game but I wouldn’t say the SKC win is the more likely of the three outcomes. In fact from what we’ve seen so far in this tournament you would suggest that there is plenty of draw potential in this match, although I’m always reluctant to back the draw in ties that go straight to penalties as neither side would want to rely on that lottery if they don’t need to.
I’ve been keen not to take on the Philadelphia Union throughout this event as I’m all too aware of their cup credentials and they have shown that already in this tournament. They have probably looked the more secure of the two sides as well and so in what I expect to be a tight match with few chances, the near enough 5/6 on Philadelphia Union on the Asian handicap which gets us paid out on a draw or a Union win looks good to me.
Tips
WON – Back Philadelphia Union (+0.5AH) to beat Sporting Kansas City for a 3/10 stake at 1.84 with BetVictor
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