The MLS is Back tournament continues on Saturday evening when the opening set of matches in Group E of the competition take place out in Orlando, as four Eastern Conference sides restart their season on what should be a decent night of action.
With points in the group stage counting towards the regular season standings, we should be in for a competitive night as at least three teams who will harbour play-off ambitions this term collide, while the other will look to prove they can compete.
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The 26 MLS teams have now become 24 with FC Dallas and Nashville being withdrawn from the tournament after positive Covid tests.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
Both matches are live on TV in the UK. They can both be seen on Free Sports. They will also be available to be watched on the live streaming consoles on bookmaker websites.
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Atlanta United vs New York Red Bulls (01.00)
The opening match of the night sees the former MLS Cup champions Atlanta United taking on a side who have regularly dominated the regular season in the Eastern Conference through the years in the New York Red Bulls.
Atlanta United made a perfect start to their season when they won their opening two regular season games, although they were brought down to earth with an emphatic quarter final first leg defeat in the Champions League. The Red Bulls have a win and a draw to their name so they begin this competition with a nice early platform to build on. These are two of the more entertaining sides to watch in MLS so we should be in for a decent match.
The big doubt over Atlanta United is how they will cope without Josef Martinez who did his ACL on the opening day of the season. They have a lot of exciting players but might just lack an out and out goalscorer. That could bring the extremely attacking and exciting Red Bulls into play and I wouldn’t put anyone off the New York outfit on the handicap but I’m just going to watch this one and assess Atlanta rather than bet.
FC Cincinnati vs Columbus Crew (03.30)
The second half of the Saturday night double header is the battle of Ohio as FC Cincinnati take on their rivals Columbus Crew down in Orlando, in a match which is sure to be very competitive as both go in search of three regular season points.
Cincinnati will be under the management of Jaap Stam for the first time in this match and it will be interesting to see if he has had a chance to instil his philosophy on the side during lockdown and in the short time since. Columbus Crew spent big in the off season and a lot was expected of them this term, as we highlighted in our outright preview, where the Crew were our main fancy to win the MLS Cup this season.
I like the Crew here. Jurgen Locadia is rated questionable for FC Cincinnati and his absence would be a bit of a blow. Columbus know that this is a real opportunity to lay a marker down for whatever season lies ahead in this group and I think they can be on it from the off. They have a good blend of technical ability and pace in their side and I expect them to win this one.
Tips
WON – Back Columbus Crew to beat FC Cincinnati for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with Betfair
Back them here:
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