The knockout stages of the MLS is Back tournament begins on Saturday night when the first two round of 16 matches takes place out on Orlando, on an evening where four Eastern Conference sides will be battling it out for spots in the quarter final.
We’ve seen some up and down action so far in the tournament with some matches being full of quality and others containing players who are clearly rusty after a long break, but now it is win or go home the quality should rise to the top.
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The 26 MLS teams have now become 24 with FC Dallas and Nashville being withdrawn from the tournament after positive Covid tests.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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Orlando City vs Montreal Impact (01.00)
The opening match of the knockout stages sees the relative hosts of the tournament in Orlando City taking on a Montreal Impact side who are struggling to impose an identity on the competition to date, but who if they do they could be dangers throughout.
Orlando have been the better side of the two in the tournament so far but whether that will mean anything now remains to be seen. Montreal Impact made it through with a victory over DC United in their final group match but whether you could call it convincing I’m not so sure. My hunch is that Orlando will win this game but I’m not really yet won other by them enough to put my complete faith in them so this is a pretty easy match to swerve.
Philadelphia Union vs New England Revolution (03.30)
With no disrespect to the teams involved in the opening match of the night, the pick of the two on Saturday is the one between the Philadelphia Union and the New England Revolution, two sides who should they come through here will fancy their chances of going all the way while being under the radar.
I’m expecting a relatively tight match here but there is no doubt that the lack of goals currently in this New England Revolution outfit is a concern. They’ve only scored two goals in their three matches to date and don’t look to be firing in the attacking area. Philadelphia Union have double that amount of goals but they look to have more of a threat about them when they go forward and that could be the difference here. The Union are a good cup side under Jim Curtin and that could also be significant. I’m not having the Union as outsiders here so I’m happy to get on them draw no bet.
Tips
WON – Back Philadelphia Union to beat New England Revolution (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.14 with 888sport
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