We are heading into the home straight in the MLS 2024 campaign and we move closer to Decision Day when a huge week of action gets underway on Saturday night with another round of games taking place in America and Canada.
As always every match that takes place on Saturday night will have full coverage via the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV but for those who don’t have that service the games will be available to stream with the bookmaker streaming service.
Saturday’s fixtures are as follows: (00.30 unless stated)
CF Montréal v San Jose Earthquakes
D.C. United v Columbus Crew
FC Cincinnati v Los Angeles Football Club
Inter Miami CF v Charlotte FC
New England Revolution v Nashville SC
New York Red Bulls v New York City FC
Philadelphia Union v Atlanta United FC
Austin FC v Real Salt Lake (01.30)
Chicago Fire v Toronto FC (01.30)
FC Dallas v Orlando City SC (01.30)
Minnesota United FC v Colorado Rapids (01.30)
St. Louis City SC v Sporting Kansas City (01.30)
Seattle Sounders FC v Houston Dynamo (03.30)
Vancouver Whitecaps v Portland Timbers (03.30)
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Big Matches
Inter Miami now need eight points to guarantee they lift the Supporters’ Shield this season and they will expect three of them to come along when they play host to Charlotte FC on Saturday night. Realistically their only challengers for that away now are the Columbus Crew. They will look to bounce back from their midweek Campeones Cup disappointment when they make the trip to the capital to take on DC United. Over in the Western Conference the leaders LA Galaxy aren’t in action on Saturday night so Real Salt Lake have the chance to close in on them in the race for the number one seed. They travel to Austin FC on Saturday night.
Best of the Rest
FC Cincinnati are still second in the East and they’ll hope to stay there as it looks like they will go up against rivals Columbus Crew in the semi-finals. They will want to host that match so it is important they keep winning. They host the newly crowned US Open Cup winners Los Angeles FC who will be looking to use that win to repair their flagging MLS form. Attention should also turn to the race to get into the playoffs and in the Eastern Conference Philadelphia Union currently hold the last spot but Atlanta United will move level on points with them if they win their meeting at Subaru Park while CF Montreal are still in the hunt and they host the San Jose Earthquakes. Nashville SC are the other chasing side and they head to New England Revolution who themselves are in the last chance saloon. Things look a little clearer in the Western Conference but FC Dallas can make things tighter in the race for the last place in the postseason if they can win a home game against Orlando City SC.
Betting
I like the look of three bets on Saturday night with the first one coming from up in Canada where CF Montreal can be taken at a fair price to keep their season alive when they host the worst team in MLS in the form of San Jose Earthquakes. The Earthquakes have been awful this season and if you had bet on them to lose every match this term you would have won on 22 of 30 occasions. They are particularly indifferent on their travels with just two wins all season and a long trip to Canada with little or nothing to play for doesn’t strike me as a recipe for success. Montreal are pushing hard for a spot in the playoffs and realistically if they are going to make it then a home game against the worst team in the league has to end up in victory. Montreal have picked up seven points from their last nine and have a golden chance of three more here.
Inter Miami are closing in on the Supporters’ Shield and will be looking at a home match against Charlotte FC as a good chance to pick up three more points in that quest. Charlotte FC are close to being locked in for a postseason spot but all of a sudden a chance to finish in the top four in the Eastern Conference has presented itself but if they are to go through the door which has opened for them they probably need to win three of their last four matches. Were they to get a top four finish they would host two of the three matches in the first round of the playoffs so it would be significant if they can achieve it, particularly when you consider that they are 7-5-3 at home this term. That makes me think that both will be going for a win here and that leads me to think that over 3.25 goals is an achievable line. Miami could cover this on their own on a going day and with 57 goals combined in their 15 home matches four goals on this ground would be nothing new. Charlotte away games aren’t exactly low scoring either so I like the over here.
The other bet that I like comes from CityPark where St Louis City SC will look to keep their season alive when they host their Missouri rivals Sporting Kansas City. It might be that even with a win the St Louis season ends but they have an ideal chance to play their side of the bargain against an SKC side who have already been eliminated from playoff contention and therefore are just playing out the campaign. They might well either be heavily rotated here though or have some heavy legs because they went to extra time in the US Open Cup final in midweek before they went down to Los Angeles FC and the turnaround has been a short one without the disappointment of losing that final to contend with. It is all or nothing for St Louis in this match and I expect them to throw the kitchen sink at a vulnerable rival and come out with a much needed victory.
Tips
Back CF Montreal to beat San Jose Earthquakes for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
Back them here:
Back Inter Miami vs Charlotte FC – Over 3.25 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.78 with Bet365
Back St Louis City SC to beat Sporting Kansas City for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betway
