MLS Picks, Odds Week 29 – Portland Timbers vs Atlanta United, Toronto FC vs Montreal & More
- MLS Week 29 kicks off this weekend with five games on Saturday and eight on Sunday
- Last week’s MLS picks record: 2-1, +0.41 units; Season Record 60-43, +10.37 units
- Read on for the MLS odds and our MLS predictions for today below
MLS Week 29 gets rolling this weekend with a 13-game card with plenty of intriguing matches with playoff implications on the line all over the league. It’s a short turnaround for most as Wednesday featured 11 games. Our MLS picks went 2-1 in the midweek, and we’ll look to build on that this weekend with four MLS picks for this weekend.
MLS Odds Week 29
| Matchup | Home | Draw | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota United vs FC Dallas | -114 | +290 | +265 |
| Columbus Crew vs Chicago Fire | -115 | +275 | +280 |
| New York Red Bulls vs Philadelphia Union | +135 | +260 | +180 |
| FC Cincinnati vs Charlotte FC | -136 | +300 | +320 |
| Nashville SC vs Austin FC | -120 | +290 | +280 |
| Portland Timbers vs Atlanta United | +112 | +300 | +195 |
| DC United vs Colorado Rapids | +140 | +270 | +165 |
| Toronto FC vs CF Montreal | +120 | +270 | +195 |
| LA Galaxy vs Sporting KC | -167 | +350 | +360 |
| New England Revolution vs NYCFC | +116 | +285 | +195 |
| Seattle Sounders vs Houston Dynamo | -180 | +320 | +440 |
| San Jose Earthquakes vs Vancouver Whitecaps | -115 | +270 | +290 |
| LAFC vs Real Salt Lake | -250 | +380 | +600 |
Odds from Barstool Sportsbook on Sept 2. Be sure to check out this Barstool Sportsbook promo code that offers a unique bonus for new customers to bet on MLS
MLS Picks for Week 29
We’re down to the stretch run of the MLS regular season and plenty is still to be decided. LAFC may lead the MLS Cup odds, and they’re huge favorites in the odds above at home to RSL, but they’ve just dropped three straight results, losing 2-1 each time. Philadelphia has also pulled level with them in the Supporters’ Shield race.
DC United have struggled all season long and have the longest price of any home team in MLS Week 29 against Colorado. However, they just beat NYCFC 2-1 on the road on Wednesday. It was their first win in six and they welcomed new addition Christian Benteke to their attack. The Rapids are winless in six and have the worst road record in MLS at 1-3-10, scoring 15 and conceding 37. Wayne Rooney’s United could be a sneaky good play in your MLS picks if you’re looking for good value.
Christian Benteke plays… and Wayne Rooney's DC United FINALLY wins https://t.co/O0mOmeBRxL
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) September 2, 2022
Portland Timbers vs Atlanta United Prediction
It’s arrow up on the Portland Timbers as they make a late-season playoff push which currently sees them seventh in the West. This is on the back of two impressive wins that snapped a five-game winless streak. The Timbers beat rivals Seattle 2-1 last Friday. Then on Wednesday, they went on the road to the West’s second place team, Austin, and walked away with three points again, winning 2-1.
What waking up with the three points feels like 👊 pic.twitter.com/rOoqThRUCI
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) September 1, 2022
But it’s arrow down for Atlanta, as it has been most of the season. They, as have most teams lately, were the latest victims of the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday when they got thrashed 4-1 in Philly. That makes it just one win in five and two in nine for the Five Stripes. That leaves them in 11th in the East but still just three points back of the playoffs. Time is running out but it’s still possible.
As bad as Atlanta has been this season they can still score. There’s no standout attacking talent with both Ronaldo Cisneros and Josef Martinez both leading the way with only seven goals. But they’ve scored in each of their past six with a total of 11 goals in those six. But they’ve also conceded in each of those six, allowing 13. A bet on both teams scoring and the Over is a perfect 6-0 in that stretch.
Going to come down to the wire in the West. ⏳ pic.twitter.com/5U3poSLSFb
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 1, 2022
Atlanta’s xG is fifth in the East and they’ve registered an xG of 0.9 or higher in each of their past 19 games. They rank second in the league in shots on target. So Atlanta should have opportunities to score, even on the road, where they are just 1-5-8, and where they’ve kept just two clean sheets this season.
Portland ranks just 21st in all of MLS in xGA and they allow the third-most shots on target.
But the Timbers have just two losses in their past 14 games and have scored in 15 straight games. However, they’ve conceded in nine straight, where both teams scoring is also 9-0. Throughout the season, both teams have scored in 22/28 games.
This one has goals written all over it for our MLS picks.
Pick: Both teams to score & Over 2.5 (-138); 1 unit at William Hill
Toronto FC vs CF Montreal Prediction
TFC matches just seem to keep making it into this column each week. Is it because they’re must-watch after their new Italian additions? That they’re now two points back from the playoffs after Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with the Galaxy? Because they’re playing a bitter rival above them in the table in CF Montreal this weekend? Maybe it’s because they can’t keep a beachball out of their net, having conceded the fourth-most goals in MLS and having kept only three clean sheets all season, contributing to them being 19-10 to the Over? It could also be because I’ll be in attendance at the game this weekend on Sunday to witness this playoff push. The answer is a resounding “yes” to all of the above.
A huge goal to put @TorontoFC on top late.
That's six goals in nine games for the Italian forward. pic.twitter.com/lQdLvL4wxU
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 1, 2022
Toronto is 4-3-1 in their past eight and a bet on both teams scoring and the Over is 5-1 in their past six.
Montreal actually ranks even higher to the Over at 20-8. While they dropped a 1-0 home result to the Red Bulls on Wednesday, they were an undefeated 6-2-0 in the eight games prior.
All that said, Montreal won the earlier meeting between the teams in July, 1-0 in Montreal. But Toronto won 4-0 at home in June in the Canadian Championship Semifinals. I think we’ll see goals from both this time around.
Pick: Both teams to score & Over 2.5 (-110); 1 unit at William Hill
The East has been fun to watch. 🎢 pic.twitter.com/ADubnReS4O
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 1, 2022
LA Galaxy vs Sporting Kansas City Prediction
If something is working, you should usually stick with it. And for me, that strategy is picking out games that look primed for goals.
We just saw this matchup on August 6 when SKC won 4-2 in Kansas City. Sporting jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead with a goal from Erik Thommy and a brace from William Agada. Chicharito made things interested late with a goal in the 83′ minute followed by a penalty in the 92′ to pull the Galaxy back to within one. Daniel Salloi put things to bed minutes later in the 95′ for SKC for the 4-2 win.
SKC has now won three straight over LA, winning 2-0 in both games last year.
The season may be lost for Peter Vermes’ side, but they’re going down with a fight with wins in three of their past four. Those three wins all came at home, while the one loss came on the road. However, they still put up three goals in a 4-3 loss in Austin, and were leading 3-1 until the 63′ minute.
Since that 4-2 loss to SKC on August 6, the Galaxy are 2-2-0, winning 5-2, drawing 3-3, winning 2-1 and drawing 2-2. Do the math and that’s a 5-0 run for bets on both to score and the Over in LA matches. LA has kept just one clean sheet in their past ten, but have scored in 12/14. At home at Dignity Health Sports Park, they’ve scored in eight straight for a total of 23 goals.
RIQUI. PUIG. GOLAZO. 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/Ive9JHkT20
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) September 1, 2022
I’m betting goals in my MLS picks for this one. And now that Kansas sports betting has launched, bettors in the Sunflower State are able to wager legally on SKC and all of their favorite teams.
Pick: Both teams to score & Over 2.5 (-120); 1 unit at William Hill
MLS Parlay Picks
Let’s jump back to Saturday and bet this two-team MLS parlay in our MLS picks.
Puttin' up big numbers. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/TTWcuRoROM
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 1, 2022
- FC Cincinnati vs Charlotte FC pick: Way back in March Charlotte won the only meeting between these teams 2-0 at home. But the first-year team is stuttering to the finish line with one win in their past five. On the road, they did just beat the slumping champs NYCFC 3-1, but they’ve won just twice on the road all season and have conceded a goal in 13/14. Cincinnati has a poor home record at 4-6-4 because they can’t turn draws into wins. That’s actually a problem both home and away for FCC as they have ten draws in their past 13 overall at 2-10-1. Both teams have scored in 11 of those 13. I don’t trust Charlotte on the road. I don’t trust Cincy to win a game. You could bet both scoring. You could bet a draw. I’ll just throw Cincinnati to score into this parlay.
- Nashville SC vs Austin FC pick: Nashville had been spiraling at 0-3-3 in seven, three times drawing 1-1. But recently the offense has come alive and they’ve won 4-0, 3-0 and 4-1. The 4-1 win on Wednesday saw Hany Mukhtar score a hat-trick. He now has six goals in his past four games. Austin fell 2-1 to Portland on Wednesday but is still second in the West. They’re 20-8 to the Over, betting both to score and Over is 5-0 in their past five, they’ve scored in 19 straight and conceded in 8/9. Goals look in the cards for our MLS picks for this one.
Parlays Picks: Cincinnati to score and Nashville vs Austin both to score (-109); 1 unit at William Hill
Ryan is SBD's resident soccer pro, though his repertoire is by no means limited to a single sport. His articles have been published by the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Kitchener Rangers, and outlets like SportsXpress and Shredthespread.com
