Rivalry week in the MLS begins on Friday night when the opening three fixtures take place up and down America and Canada in what is always a great time for the league not just because of the rivalry but also because the summer transfer window is open.
A lot of teams have already done great business so we could see some star names making their debuts in this round of games, one which begins with two of the three matches on the TV for us in the UK to enjoy with the other being on the bookmaker streams.
Philadelphia Union vs DC United (00.30 – Free Sports)
The opening match of the night comes from Subaru Park as Philadelphia Union look to reclaim top spot in the Eastern Conference overnight when they welcome DC United to town with the visitors looking to build on their crazy midweek win in Orlando.
That showed the better side of DC United but even then they were hanging on even after opening up a fairly early 3-0 lead. That shows the vulnerability that they have defensively so the question here is probably whether DC can push the Union defence like they did the Orlando one. My suspicion is that they won’t and I think Philadelphia should come out on top in this match but they are drawing way too many games for my liking, largely down to the lack of a potent finisher in their ranks. I expect a home win here but at the price I’m not that interested in backing it.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THE MLS! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Los Angeles FC vs LA Galaxy (03.00 – Sky Main Event & Sky Football)
The middle match of the three on Friday night moves into the early hours of Saturday morning for us in the UK and it is the third instalment of ‘El Trafico’ this season and the second in MLS when Los Angeles FC host LA Galaxy in a high profile encounter.
This fixture doesn’t need any building up at the best of times but it is the first time that Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini are eligible to play for the home side in this match. The former only arrived in the country hours before kick off so he might not feature but the latter is expected to make his debut. Galaxy go into this match off the back of an emphatic 4-0 win over CF Montreal in midweek and although they are without one of their marquee players in Douglas Costa, he missed that win anyway. Galaxy fans have wanted striker Dejan Joveljic to start for a while and they got their wish with Costa suspended in midweek and the result was enormous. That should help the Galaxy output in a fixture which has a history of lots of goals, a trend which I expect to be maintained here.
Vancouver Whitecaps vs Minnesota United (03.30)
The one match on Friday evening into the early hours of Saturday morning which isn’t like on TV in the UK comes from Canada where an improving Vancouver Whitecaps look to pick up three more points when they host Minnesota United.
Both teams sit two points outside the play-off zone in the Western Conference heading into this match so the winners will move into the top seven overnight at the very least which will add to the intensity and enthusiasm of the two teams. Vancouver are undefeated in their last six outings at BC Field with four wins and a couple of draws, those coming against San Jose Earthquakes and New England Revolution which weren’t terrible results. Minnesota have won their last two matches and have actually picked up three road wins this term already. I think this will be tight. I think Minnesota are better than their results but I respect Vancouver at home so I’ll leave this alone.
Tips
Back Los Angeles FC vs LA Galaxy – Over 3 goals for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with BetVictor
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
