The third set of matches in the opening round of the MLS Cup Playoffs 2023 begin on Friday night when we determine who will progress in the Western Conference clash between the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas when the two meet at Lumen Field.
The pair both won their home matches in the first two games of the series so they head back to Seattle to settle the score, with a Conference semi-final clash with the champions Los Angeles FC the reward for the winners. Once again the MLS Season Pass is where to be for full coverage but the match will be shown via the bookmaker streams.
Seattle Sounders
The Seattle Sounders opened up the series with a fairly comfortable win on home turf but they weren’t really much of a factor in what was essentially a free hit in the second game in Dallas and now they have to go to a deciding match to see if they can extend their campaign. They won’t have wanted to be involved in a game three but the positive for them is that they are at home so they have their fate in their own hands.
One concern, not just in this match but for as long as their season is alive, is that this is a team that surprisingly doesn’t score many goals. They only managed 19 in 17 regular season games at home and you just wonder if they will be able to turn a tie around should they concede the first goal. It should be said that they only conceded 11 goals here in the regular season so they might be able to get through but they’ll need their best performance of the series I suspect.
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FC Dallas
This series could already be in the hands of FC Dallas when you consider that they took advantage of their home match in the second game of it. They went to Toyota Stadium trailing in the series but they could easily have gone there in front because star forward Jesus Ferreira missed a couple of great chances in the opening game when the score was at 0-0 which could have transformed the status of the tie completely.
To be fair to Dallas, with their backs against the wall they came out on top in a must-win game and that will give them confidence here. That is the second time they have won a must-win game this term because their trip to LA Galaxy on Decision Day carried the same jeopardy. Were it not for the injury to Alan Velasco in the series opener, FC Dallas would be nicely placed for this deciding game. They do at least have any momentum that there is on their side.
Betting
We are basically playing knockout football from here on in and in MLS that tends to lead to plenty of goal opportunities and with the personnel on show in this match I expect more to be taken than not. So far this series has been full of good chances. Four of them were taken in the second game of the series while Jesus Ferreira won’t need me to tell him he should have done better with a couple of his chances in the opening game. I don’t think either team will want their season to come down to a penalty shootout so I’m expecting both to have a go again here.
You can get a reasonable price on over 2.25 goals here and while there is a concern over the amount of goals that the Seattle Sounders score, we shouldn’t forget those statistics have come in games where there is little to no jeopardy unlike this one. Dallas carry plenty of goal threat and the first goal in this game will open it up even more with the team who concede it having to push more to score to keep their season alive. I’ll play the over on a low looking goal line for MLS.
Tips
Back Over 2.25 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
