MLS preview and tips: Goals in DC while St Louis meet their match
- George Dempsey
- 25 March 2023
The European football season might be drawing to a close, but MLS is just beginning to gather pace, and football tipster George Dempsey has been looking across the pond for the best betting value.
The MLS season is flying by! It's week five and with the table already starting to take shape, plenty of tasty betting opportunities are up for grabs.
Atlanta United and New England Revolution are the pacesetters in the Eastern Conference. Both sides have picked up three wins from their opening four games, although Atlanta have been far more emphatic in victory.
St Louis are the standout team in the Western Conference and the league. They've won their first four games as an MLS side, beating Austin, Portland, Charlotte, and San Jose.
New boys to meet their match
St Louis have been impressive but sooner or later they will meet their match. Their opening-day win over Austin was a surprise, but to follow that up with three more wins, including in Portland, is jaw-dropping.
This week they'll travel to Utah to face Real Salt Lake. RSL were formidable at home last season but started their 2023 home campaign with a defeat. It was only the third time in the past six years that Mastroeni's men had lost consecutive games at home.
The circumstances have probably led to us getting better odds on a home win than we'd have expected pre-season, and it does seem worth betting against St Louis as much as it does betting on Real Salt Lake.
Whilst it's not a major factor, part of RSL's home advantage is that they do play so far above sea level, and this will be St Louis' first experience of that.
Goals to flow in DC
We've seen 14 goals in four DC United games so far, with the influential Mateusz Klich and striker Christian Benteke both in fine form. No MLS player has created more chances than Klich (12) and Benteke has put two of them away.
At the other end of the pitch, the 2022 season saw DC allow two goals per game at Audi Field, and so far this year it appears that not much has changed.
They've already played out two 3-2 games in MLS this season and all of their pre-season games saw three or more goals with both teams scoring.
New England are not defensively sound. LAFC put four past them just two weeks ago, and they were a pretty reliable bet for goals on their travels last season.
Both teams have some good attacking options here, most notably Gustavo Bou, who was responsible for 11 goals in 19 games.
There have been five goals in four of the last five meetings between these sides, including a pair of 3-2 games at Audi Field, a scoreline DC seems to be fond of at the moment.
- George Dempsey provides soccer tips as MLS Betting UK 2023 on Tipstrr
