CF Montreal vs Orlando City SC Odds & Pick – MLS Cup Playoffs Round 1 (Oct 16)
By Paul Attfield in Soccer News
Published:
- CF Montreal host Orlando City in MLS Cup playoff action on Sunday, October 16th at 8 pm ET
- It’s the second seed versus the seventh in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs
- Read on for betting odds, a full preview, and best bets for this match
On the back of four straight wins, and a six-game unbeaten run, the lone Canadian team to qualify for this year’s MLS Cup playoffs are rolling into this year’s postseason. Read on for analysis and odds for CF Montreal vs Orlando City SC.
Facing off against Montreal on Sunday, October 16th will be a team entering the playoffs on a very different run of form, with Orlando City having lost four of their past six games, although they did manage to edge Columbus Crew 2-1 on Decision Day to clinch their postseason place.
While Montreal has designs on a first MLS Cup this year, with the Eastern Conference’s second seed riding high in the MLS Cup playoff odds, the same cannot be said for Orlando, which is embarking on just the third playoff run in team history and is yet to win a playoff game outright. The Lions edged New York City FC on penalties two years ago in their lone postseason success.
CF Montreal vs Orlando City Odds
| Result | Moneyline |
|---|---|
| CF Montreal | -135 |
| Orlando City | +380 |
| Draw | +260 |
Odds as of October 16th at Caesars Sportsbook. Check out these Caesars Sportsbook bonuses before betting these odds.
Over/Under and Spread
Reflecting the fact that the two teams have combined for two goals in three of their past four contests, Under 2.5 goals is favored here at -120, versus -110 for the over. And given the fact that Montreal scored almost 20 more goals than Orlando across the regular season (63 vs 44), while the two teams had fairly similar defensive records (50 vs 53 goals against), Montreal is favored on the spread too, with -0.5 coming in at -130.
Cross-Border Chaos
Canada has been anything but a happy hunting ground for American teams in the MLS Cup playoffs. U.S.-based teams have won just two playoffs game outright north of the 49th parallel, with Seattle also winning a shootout following a 0-0 draw (to clinch the 2016 MLS Cup no less). But on top of those two wins, American franchises have drawn two and lost a whopping eight in 12 all-time playoff games.
Montreal’s Balanced Scoring
Wilfried Nancy’s team may have climbed the goal-scoring charts this season, with its 63 goals placing it fifth overall in MLS. But unlike some others above it on the list, Montreal didn’t have anyone challenging for the Golden Boot (Romell Quioto topped out at 15).
After earning their seventh road win in a row, @cfmontreal has recorded the most points (35) away from home in a season in @MLS history, excluding the shootout era. pic.twitter.com/1Eu8RfQwuu
— MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) October 9, 2022
Instead, it got scoring from up and down the roster, with 12 players finding the net on multiple occasions. Of those 12, eight scored at least three, making Montreal one of just three MLS teams with such diversified scoring options.
Kara-ing The Load
Having scored 19 goals less than Montreal, Orlando’s scoring very clearly flowed through Ercan Kara, the only player on the Lions to hit double figures in scoring.
– Led #OrlandoCity to the US Open Cup title
– Scored game-winning goal on DecisionDay to lead #OrlandoCity into the postseason@facutorresss burst onto the scene in his first MLS season.Catch @OrlandoCitySC against @cfmontreal Sunday at 8pm ET on ESPN and TVA Sports. pic.twitter.com/4Xkn7LXWTu
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 16, 2022
While Facundo Torres wasn’t too far back with nine, the next-highest scorer was Junior Urso with five. Beyond that, only two other players had as many as three, meaning there are likely far fewer threats for Montreal to focus on.
Fortress Saputo
Though Montreal trails Orlando in the all-time series 8-9-2, it enters this game in a rich run of form, having lost just once of its past 15 regular-season games, and after winning four in a row. On top of that, the team has the friendly confines of Saputo Stadium to fall back on in this game, a venue where the team is a perfect 3-0 in the postseason, to go alongside a postseason record of 4-0 in Montreal (the team has played a game at the Olympic Stadium too).
CF Montreal vs Orlando City Lineups and Injuries
Montreal Projected Lineup: Pantemis; Miller, Waterman, Camacho; Lappalainen, Kone, Wanyama, Johnston; Mihailovic; Kamara, Quioto
Montreal Injuries: Hamdy, Giraldo
Orlando City Projected Lineup: Gallese; Ruan, Schlegel, Moutinho, Carlos; Araujo, Urso; Torres, Pereyra, Perea; Kara
Orlando City Injuries: Jansson, Pato, DeZart
CF Montreal vs Orlando City League Stats
| 20 | Wins | 14 |
| 9 | Losses | 14 |
| 5 | Draws | 6 |
| 63 | Goals For | 44 |
| 50 | Goals Against | 53 |
| 52.2 | xG | 40.0 |
| 35.8 | xGA | 45.7 |
| DWWWW | Recent Form (All Competitions) | LWLLW |
CF Montreal vs Orlando City Best Bet
There are valid reasons that Montreal came closest to threatening the Philadelphia Union at the Eastern Conference summit, and you should expect many of them to play out here. From the balanced goal-scoring to the team cohesion that Nancy has developed within his squad, expect Montreal to maintain its perfect home playoff record here.
Pick: CF Montreal (-135)
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Sports Writer
For the last 20 years, Paul Attfield has worked in sports media. Starting out in his native Britain with the likes of The Independent, he eventually switched continents, with his work appearing in the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Yahoo Sports since.
