The Portland Timbers secured their place in the MLS is Back tournament final on Wednesday night and on Thursday evening we will find out which team they will take on for overall glory and the spot in the Champions League next season.
The surprise package of the tournament Orlando City take on one of the more fancied runners in the form of Minnesota United in the second semi-final, in a match which could catch fire quite early based on the way they have played so far in the competition.
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The 26 MLS teams have now become 24 with FC Dallas and Nashville being withdrawn from the tournament after positive Covid tests.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 live on the Sky Football and Free Sports channels. The build up to the clash begins at 1am with the match due to start a few minutes after that.
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Orlando City
Going into their quarter final, a lot of people thought it was going to be a case of fair play to Orlando City but now they are finally up against one of the heavyweights of MLS their race would be run and that would be it for them. Orlando never read that script though as they restricted one of the most potent offenses that MLS has ever seen to relatively little and then when their chance came along to level they did so before holding their nerve nicely to win on penalties.
Wins like that give a side confidence. There is no doubt that will make many stand up and take notice. To defend as well as they did against an attack of the quality of LAFC will give the Lions so much confidence moving forward. It will also take the pressure off their offensive players, of which they have some who are decent quality. If there was one thing you would criticise Orlando for it would be lacking a clinical edge in front of goal, but they fully deserve their place in this semi-final and aren’t necessarily making up the numbers.
Minnesota United
A lot of credit must go to Adrian Heath and his men because they were brave enough to allow some big players to leave in the winter and are without some other big players for this tournament, but despite that they continue to improve and are going about their business nicely. They have laid down a marker for whatever happens in the remainder of the regular season despite what outcome comes along in this semi-final.
The first thing you notice when you watch Minnesota is that there isn’t really a weakness in their side. They can be compact in defence but then they get forward in good numbers and in Luis Amarilla they have a standout feature at the top end of the pitch. There is plenty of creativity around him and in turn that means that the Loons don’t lack for goals. They don’t concede too many either so they are entitled to be favourites here, but surprisingly they are not.
Betting
I think Minnesota United are getting better with every match in this tournament. Having the likes of Luis Amarilla and Ossie Alonso back in their side certainly helps that and if Kevin Molino is good to go here that would be an even bigger bonus but whether he is or he isn’t I like the way Minnesota are trending here. That’s not to say that I don’t like Orlando. They have come through the draw nicely but I think if both sides play their style to the best of their ability Minnesota are the better side.
I’m very surprised Minnesota are not favourites for this match. I just think they’ve got more big game experience in their side and that could be the telling thing when we look back on this semi-final. Orlando have shown they can keep things tight and much like the first semi, I expect a tight match here, but that extra bit of quality that Minnesota have makes me think that if there is a winner of this one in 90 minutes it will be them.
Tips
Back Minnesota United to beat Orlando City (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.05 with BetVictor
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