The second round of matches in the MLS 2023 season begins and ends on Saturday with the start of the Champions League in midweek ensuring that all 14 fixtures in the second weekend of the campaign are played out on the one day.
All of the matches are live and in full on the Apple TV MLS Season Pass although six of them are available to stream for free for those who haven’t subscribed. All matches are also available with the various bookmakers too.
Saturday’s fixtures are as follows: (UK kick off in brackets)
Los Angeles Football Club v Portland Timbers (21.30)
Atlanta United v Toronto FC (00.30)
Columbus Crew v D.C. United (00.30)
Inter Miami CF v Philadelphia Union (00.30)
New England Revolution v Houston Dynamo FC (00.30)
New York Red Bulls v Nashville SC (00.30)
Orlando City SC v FC Cincinnati (00.30)
Austin FC v CF Montréal (01.30)
Chicago Fire FC v New York City FC (01.30)
FC Dallas v LA Galaxy (01.30)
St. Louis City SC v Charlotte FC (01.30)
Colorado Rapids v Sporting Kansas City (02.30)
San Jose Earthquakes v Vancouver Whitecaps FC (03.30)
Seattle Sounders FC v Real Salt Lake (03.30)
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Big Matches
We finally get to see the champions Los Angeles FC on show on Saturday after their season opener was postponed because of the rain. We will get a good feel for the chances of the 2023 outfit too because they face a testing task against a Portland Timbers side who won their opening match last week. The Philadelphia Union were spot kicks away from winning MLS Cup last season but they dusted themselves down and got on with the job at hand when they won their opening match against the Columbus Crew last week. The two sides who were second in their regular season Conferences a year ago also meet when Austin FC take on CF Montreal.
Best of the Rest
There is no getting away from the fact that the Seattle Sounders were incredibly impressive last week. They host Real Salt Lake who themselves had a good win to open up their season. Columbus Crew are highly rated this season and they take on DC United while two sides who had very different opening weeks meet at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium when Atlanta United host Toronto FC. LA Galaxy also get their season underway this week. They head to FC Dallas while the Chicago Fire will be the third team to start their 2022 season when they take on New York City FC. It will be a big night in Missouri as the new take to the league, St Louis City take on Charlotte FC in their opening home match as an MLS franchise.
Betting
There are so many bets that tempt me in here but I’ll stick with just the two and they come in the later matches to get underway. Austin FC cost me a week ago when I backed them to win when in hindsight the over was the more obvious given their lack of depth defensively. I won’t make the same mistake a second time and I’m happy to be on the over when they go up against CF Montreal on Saturday evening. CF Montreal remain an attack minded side and although they didn’t score in their defeat to Inter Miami last week, they did everything but score and with a week more sharpness in and around the box I expect to see goals from Montreal here, not least because Austin have defensive issues. In fact, both teams have defensive worries at the minute so over 2.75 goals very much appeals here.
The other match I like goals in is one of the later ones to kick off when the Seattle Sounders take on Real Salt Lake. I mentioned last week that I’m expecting big things from Seattle Sounders this season and they didn’t disappoint me in the opening week. They looked like they could score every time they went forward against the Colorado Rapids but Real Salt Lake won on the road last week and don’t have a huge amount to lose here so they can very much contribute to the scoring too. The Seattle attack created plenty of chances with Heber already looking like a great addition through the middle but RSL carry a threat of their own with Damir Kreilach fit again and already firing. This one should ignite nicely and over 2.5 goals looks a solid bet here.
Tips
Back Austin FC vs CF Montreal – Over 2.75 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.90 with Bet365
Back Seattle Sounders vs Real Salt Lake – Over 2.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.88 with Bet365
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