MLS Cup Playoffs 2025 – Sunday 26th October Matches Tips and Betting Preview

The MLS Cup Playoffs continue with another three first round matches taking place on Sunday night as three more ties get up and running one after another with six teams looking to go one up with two to play in their respective series.

As has been the case throughout the season, all three matches will be shown live and in full via the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV with full coverage throughout. If you don’t have that facility then the bookmaker live streams will show the matches.

Philadelphia Union vs Chicago Fire (21.30)

The opening game of the night takes us to the Eastern Conference as the number one seeds Philadelphia Union get their playoff campaign underway when they host the last time into the field in the form of the Chicago Fire.

The Union start their MLS Cup quest knowing that the whole competition goes through Subaru Park after they landed the Supporters’ Shield during the regular season and they will be looking to use home advantage here to draw first blood in the series. They take on a Chicago Fire who have already experienced the knockout nature of the playoffs and progressed when they won the wildcard match on Wednesday night. They can probably approach this match with nothing to lose as even if the schedule has gone against them they know they will be able to level up the tie should things go wrong here when they are at home in game two next week. The Fire have been in excellent form in recent times and certainly aren’t making up the numbers but after a tough tie on Wednesday night, travelling to a ground where the Union have a 12-4-1 record isn’t an ideal situation. I fully expect Philadelphia to win this tie based on their home form but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Fire make a real impression over the latter part of proceedings, however this game might just have fallen at the right time for the Union and they are priced more than fairly to add a third win to the two they achieved against Chicago in the regular season.

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Vancouver Whitecaps vs FC Dallas (23.30)

The Western Conference bracket opens up in the second game of the three on Sunday night when the Vancouver Whitecaps, arguably the favourites to win the MLS Cup for many now, play host to FC Dallas for a second weekend in succession.

Dallas were victorious at BC Place a week ago, a result which secured their place in the playoffs but they were helped by the chance to play against 10 men for 79 minutes after an early red card for the Canucks. You would imagine on a more level playing field here that the Whitecaps would show their class, not least because this means plenty to them whereas although last week was about the number one seed, they were in the playoffs and weren’t playing knockout football like Dallas felt that they were. Dallas will be boosted by the return of their front two Logan Farrington and Petar Musa who missed the win last week because of suspension. That could see Dallas remain a threat but you would have to think that we are going to get the best of the Whitecaps here and if they do we are dealing with a side who went into Decision Day in control of the number one seed in the Conference. I readily expect Vancouver to win this match but at the odds I’m prepared to let them do it. I’ll just take a closer watch of this one ahead of maybe getting involved in the second match next weekend.

San Diego FC vs Portland Timbers (01.30)

The third and final leg of the triple header of MLS Cup Playoffs action on Sunday night takes us to Snapdragon Stadium where the number one seeds in the Western Conference, San Diego FC, will open up their maiden postseason campaign when they host the Portland Timbers.

These two met at Providence Park last weekend when San Diego won emphatically 4-0 to book the number one seed and condemn the Timbers to the wildcard match in midweek. To their credit, Portland came through a clash which many thought they were actually the outsiders to progress from against Real Salt Lake to set up a best of three clash with the best side in the Western Conference. The two big concerns for the Timbers here is how much that midweek clash would have taken out of them, physically if not emotionally, and also the fact that San Diego beat them 4-0 on their own patch last week and did so without their talisman Chucky Lozano. The issue for San Diego is only FC Dallas qualified for the postseason with fewer wins on home soil than them and with two of the potential three matches in this round being played on this ground they will need to find an improvement in that department if they are going to get the job done. Much like the opening game of the night, this feels like it has fallen in the right place for San Diego as Portland will have had to worry about Real Salt Lake and getting the better of them and might not have had enough time to address the issues that San Diego caused them last weekend. They have a whole week after this to sort it out but this might just come too soon for Phil Neville’s men. I think San Diego put their poor home form behind them here and run out comfortable winners over Portland for a second weekend in a row.

Tips

Back Philadelphia Union to beat Chicago Fire for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill

Back San Diego FC (-1AH) to beat Portland Timbers for a 3/10 stake at 1.99 with William Hill

Back them here: