The group stage of the MLS is Back tournament concludes on Thursday with the final three matches as Groups B and F draw to a close, to give us the completed draw for the knockout stage of the event which begins this weekend.
There are still places in the final stages of the event to be confirmed on Thursday, as well as the order in which groups will finish which will also have an impact on the draw for the remainder of the event. It should be a decent day of football.
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The 26 MLS teams have now become 24 with FC Dallas and Nashville being withdrawn from the tournament after positive Covid tests.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.
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Chicago Fire vs Vancouver Whitecaps (14.00 – Betting sites)
The opening match of the day sees Group B come to a close and it does so when the Chicago Fire take on the Vancouver Whitecaps in a match where anything but a heavy defeat sees the Fire through and anything except a huge Whitecaps win sees them eliminated.
I can’t say I’ve been that impressed with either side in this tournament so far. Chicago started well with a win over the Seattle Sounders but Seattle were rancid that day and flattered the Fire somewhat. The Whitecaps have looked bang ordinary too and appear to be leaking goals for fun. If I was convinced the Fire would be prepared to attack and go for the win I might have backed them but their motivation is questionable so I’ll leave this alone.
LA Galaxy vs Houston Dynamo (01.00 – Free Sports)
Group F was dubbed the ‘Group of Death’ when the draw was made and that is how it is proving with four great sides battling it out. The penultimate match of it sees the LA Galaxy taking on the Houston Dynamo in a match both teams need to win else they will be eliminated from the tournament.
Unfortunately for the Galaxy, such was the margin of their heavy beating by their rivals LAFC, they don’t just need to win here but will have to come out on top by three clear goals in order to make it through to the knockout stages. Any win sees the Dynamo through but they are going to have to start taking their chances if they are going to pick that up. I’d have taken the goals here but for Javier Hernandez being out injured and Alberth Elis suspended. That makes me leave this one alone.
Los Angeles FC vs Portland Timbers (03.30 – Free Sports)
The final match of the group stage will determine who wins Group F when the Supporters’ Shield holders Los Angeles FC take on the Portland Timbers in a very appealing clash to conclude the first part of the tournament.
Both these sides have looked in good touch so far in this tournament. LAFC have been scoring for fun, but there might be a little bit of concern over the amount of goals they have been shipping whereas Portland Timbers have been more pragmatic but you just know there is a lot more to come from them, and with no pressure on them here we might just see it over the course of this 90 minutes or so.
I like goals in this game. The line may feel a little high at 3.5 but there aren’t too many LAFC games that don’t turn wild and Portland are happy to get involved in shootouts with their attacking quality too. Both meetings between these sides contained five goals last season and I’m expecting something similar here. Both teams are already through to the next stage so they can go hell for leather to try and win the group. That should lead to four or more goals.
Tips
WON – Back Los Angeles FC vs Portland Timbers – Over 3.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 2.05 with BetVictor
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