The MLS is Back tournament continues in Orlando on Friday night when two Western Conference sides collide in the opening match in Group B as the reigning champions Seattle Sounders take on the San Jose Earthquakes.
These two sides will know that this is probably their toughest assignment in the group with Vancouver Whitecaps and Chicago Fire to come later in the event, so the winner here will give themselves a good chance of progressing to the knockout stage.
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The 26 MLS teams have now become 24 with FC Dallas and Nashville being withdrawn from the tournament after positive Covid tests.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 whole match is live on Free Sports for those of us who are in the UK. The build up to the match begins at 2.05am with the match beginning soon after. The match is also live on the bookmaker streaming consoles.
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Seattle Sounders
The defending champions have begun their title defence solidly with a win and a draw from their two matches. Although they were in decent early form, the break probably came at a good time for them as it has allowed them to get their key playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro back, and you get the impression that they are going to improve on that early showing. We have seen in play-offs gone by that when the Sounders get into a cup competition they are very hard to stop.
It will be interesting to see which tactics Seattle adopt in this match. I say that because they like to play solidly in forward areas but conditions in Orlando may not suit that style, so whether they look to play a more possession based game will be interesting. There is no doubt Seattle have the attack to take the game to anyone but if there is a weakness in this side then it would come in their defence. All eyes will be on that unit.
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes haven’t made the best start to their regular season campaign with a draw and a 5-2 spanking but hopes were high for the Californians going into the season and it might be a little too early to write them off just yet. Their starting XI has the potential to be good enough to come through this tournament. The question marks would come in the depth of their squad, with a lot of youngsters needing to step up to the mark.
Goals are clearly going to be no issue for the Earthquakes. The likes of Danny Hoesen and Christian Espinoza have goals in them and there is enough creativity in the side. They have an aging defence though which is where their main concern lies. One advantage they could have on a lot of sides in this group in particular is that being based in California they will be used to the insane humidity that this tournament will be played in.
Betting
I’ve a feeling the San Jose Earthquakes could just be a shade underrated here. I suspect they are going to take the game to the Seattle Sounders and while that might leave them exposed, I think their players will be able to play at the required tempo a lot easier and for longer than their opponents. Matches between these two are always competitive but of the two Seattle are probably the more technical team and they might need 90 minutes to find their form.
You can get around 1.75 on the Earthquakes on the +0.5 Asian handicap which means that we win in full even if this match ends in a draw. We are yet to see anyone dominate a game so there has to be a chance that whatever happens San Jose are always going to be in this match. I just feel conditions will be in their favour a little more than they will their opponents and I’m taking the Earthquakes to avoid defeat in this one.
Tips
WON – Back San Jose Earthquakes (+0.5AH) to beat Seattle Sounders for a 3/10 stake at 1.75 with 888sport
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