We are closing in on the end of the MLS 2024 regular season and we move a step closer to that on Wednesday night when a near full round of fixtures take place as the battle for the Supporters’ Shield and beyond continues.
As is the case throughout the season, the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV carries full live coverage of all of the Wednesday night matches but they will also be available with the bookmaker live streams for those who don’t have that access.
Wednesday’s fixtures are as follows: (00.30 unless stated)
Atlanta United FC v Inter Miami CF
New England Revolution v CF Montréal
New York City FC v Philadelphia Union
Toronto FC v Columbus Crew
Orlando City SC v Charlotte FC (01.15)
Houston Dynamo v Vancouver Whitecaps (01.30)
Minnesota United FC v FC Cincinnati (01.30)
Nashville SC v Chicago Fire (01.30)
Sporting Kansas City v Colorado Rapids (01.30)
Real Salt Lake v FC Dallas (02.30)
Los Angeles Football Club v Austin FC (03.30)
Portland Timbers v Los Angeles Galaxy (03.30)
Seattle Sounders FC v San Jose Earthquakes (03.30)
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Big Matches
Inter Miami look to be cruising towards the Supporters’ Shield this season and now the talk is whether or not they can break the record for the points won in a regular campaign. They will head to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to take on Atlanta United looking for three more points. LA Galaxy are now their nearest challengers and they face an awkward trip to Providence Park to take on a Portland Timbers side who have gone a little quiet. FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew won’t have given up hope of topping the pile heading into the playoffs and they are both on the road at Minnesota United and Toronto FC respective.
Best of the Rest
Two of the better sides in the Eastern Conference meet when New York City FC host Philadelphia Union while in the crazy race for the last spot in the playoffs in the East, Nashville host Chicago Fire and New England Revolution welcome CF Montreal in must not lose matches for both teams. Los Angeles FC will be looking to bounce back from the derby defeat at the weekend when they host Austin FC while Seattle Sounders look for another home win at the expense of San Jose Earthquakes. Real Salt Lake will look to preserve their top four spot in the West when they host FC Dallas while Sporting Kansas City take on the Colorado Rapids in what might be a more entertaining game than it looks on paper.
Betting
This card looks very appealing and my first bet comes in the form of the match between Toronto FC and Columbus Crew having more than 2.5 goals in it. When these two met in Ohio earlier in the season Columbus won 4-0 and I wouldn’t be completely surprised if another job is done on the Canadians because the space that Toronto leave in front of their defence is exactly where the key players for the Crew look to get on the ball and do their damage. Toronto are happy to trade that space off to get their influential players involved higher up the pitch and to be fair, Columbus Crew are anything but watertight. Goals usually come naturally when these two sides meet and I don’t envisage any different here.
Moving later into the evening and I can’t ignore the 8/11 on Orlando City to get the better of Charlotte FC. These two sides look to be swinging in opposite directions at the minute. Orlando are beginning to look like the team who finished second in the Eastern Conference table last season and had a decent playoff run while Charlotte, having offered plenty of promise prior to the Leagues Cup break, have hit the buffers in a big way. They have just one win in their last eight matches in the MLS and their last two defeats to Atlanta United and CF Montreal are very alarming. Orlando City have won their last two and are 6-1-1 for their last eight and are really getting the job done on home soil now. I expect another home win here.
I am not usually one for taking teams to cover a 1.5 handicap but I do regularly suggest that away sides can sack these midweek matches off and that might be the case with San Jose Earthquakes but to be fair they have been so bad this season that it might not matter if they don’t. The Seattle Sounders are regulars at finding their best form at this point of the season and there are signs that they are doing it again. They have won eight of their last 10 matches with the two defeats in that time being against a rampant Los Angeles FC and a derby loss to Portland Timbers. Half of those wins have covered this handicap and I expect similar here. San Jose are 2-1-11 on their travels and of their 11 losses the last six have been by two or more and the two before that were 4-3 and I don’t see them scoring three here. San Jose are the worst team in MLS by some distance and I expect Seattle to emphasise why here and cover that large handicap.
Tips
Back Toronto FC vs Columbus Crew – Over 2.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.67 with William Hill
Back it here:
Back Orlando City SC to beat Charlotte FC for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
Back Seattle Sounders (-1.5AH) to beat San Jose Earthquakes for a 3/10 stake at 2.05 with Unibet
