MLS Predictions Today – Odds & Picks for Matchday 27 (Aug 20)

• MLS returns to action on Sunday, August 20, with 11 games and 22 teams in play
• As we enter the homestretch of the regular season with most teams having 10-12 games remaining, it’s Cincinnati sitting top of the East with 51 points and St. Louis first in the West with 41 points
• Get our top MLS picks and predictions for Week 27 below

MLS is back after a month-long Leagues Cup break. Some teams have had a few weeks off having gone out in the group stage, while others like Miami, Philadelphia and Nashville are still playing in the tournament this weekend. Sunday sees 22 of the league’s 29 teams back on the pitch for league play and we have the odds and our top MLS predictions today here.

While Inter Miami won’t be playing this weekend in MLS, Messi and the Herons are in action Saturday night in the Leagues Cup Final. See our Nashville SC vs Inter Miami picks here.

MLS Odds Week 27

In the MLS odds for Week 27, LAFC are listed as huge home favorites over the Colorado Rapids at -223. The New York Red Bulls are also expected to get all three points at home to DC Untied as -134 favorites. Oddsmakers see Toronto vs Montreal and Chicago vs Orlando as the closest games of the round with both games being given +240 odds for a draw. Odds from Bet365. See our Bet365 review to get all the info you need to start betting with one of the top books in the industry.

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MLS Predictions Today Matchday 27

We have picks for four of Sunday’s games from MLS Matchday 27, starting with a Hell Is Real rivalry in Ohio.

Columbus Crew vs FC Cincinnati Prediction

In the Leagues Cup Columbus beat St. Louis 2-1 and Club America 4-1 to reach the round of 32 before crashing out in PKs versus Minnesota after a 3-3 draw.

Cincinnati beat Sporting KC in PKs after a 3-3 draw and Chivas Guadalajara 3-1 in the group stage before also going out in PKs in the round of 32 to Nashville after drawing 1-1 in regulation.

The Crew are sixth in the East with 36 points compared to Cincinnati who are first with 51. Both teams are working in some new players. Columbus lost star midfielder Lucas Zelarayan during the Leagues Cup, but then quickly turned around and signed Diego Rossi, who used to play with LAFC to replace him. Cincinnati added a new DP striker just before the tournament in Gabon international Aaron Boupendza who scored in his MLS debut, and provided one assist in his three Leagues Cup appearances.

This is the second edition of this rivalry this season with Cincinnati winning 3-2 at home in May.

A scoreline with multiple goals has been the norm of late between these two. The previous six scorelines read 2-2, 2-0, 3-2, 2-2, 2-1 and 3-0. A road team hasn’t won in this matchup across the past eight meetings.

Columbus games average the joint-most (with Atlanta) goals per game at 3.4. In MLS they’ve scored in all but one game this season. Across all comps, the Crew have scored in 27 of 29 games in 2023. The 45 goals Columbus have scored are the most in the league, but then the 33 they’ve conceded is the fourth-most among all playoff teams.

Let’s look at a few more scoring stats between these teams. The Over 2.5 is 14-9 in MLS for Columbus. In all comps, the Crew have seen both teams scoring in seven straight and in 12/13. A bet on both teams scoring and over 2.5 goals is 6-1 in their past seven and 12-1 in their past 13.

For Cincinnati, across all their competitions bets on both teams scoring is 7-0 of late and both scoring and over 2.5 is 6-1. They’ve also only failed to score a goal one time in their past 28 games.

• MLS Predictions: Both Teams to Score (-160); 1 unit at Caesars Sportsbook

Diego Rossi said even though he’s new to the #Crew96 he understands the importance of the Hell is Real rivalry with FC Cincinnati. “These are the games you want to play.” He’ll make his debut for Columbus on Sunday pic.twitter.com/WyA4UJA6uB

— Justin Holbrock (@JustinHolbrock) August 17, 2023

St. Louis City SC vs Austin FC Prediction

It’s a first-time meeting between expansion team St. Louis City and Austin FC. Both made quick exits from the Leagues Cup. Austin lost 3-1 to each of Mazatlan and Juarez of Liga MX and went out in the group stage. St. Louis didn’t fare any better losing 2-1 to Columbus and 4-0 to Club America. So both are well rested for their MLS returns. And maybe that is for the best.

St. Louis had been cruising in their first season being first in the West at 13-2-8 and third in the overall standings. At home, they’re 8-1-3 and have scored 29 to just 10 conceded. The time off has given DP Joao Klauss time to recover and he could return to the lineup from injury this weekend.

Austin didn’t start the season strong but were 4-1-1 in their six games leading up to Leagues Cup and had risen to fifth in the West.

Across all comps Austin has now scored in 12 straight games. However, both teams to score has hit in each of their past six and in 10 of those 12, so the defense hasn’t been strong.

Coming into Leagues Cup St. Louis were also in good form being 4-0-1, and having kept clean sheets in three of those five games.

But low-scoring games are rare for St. Louis. In their short history, across all comps in 2023 they’ve played in 27 games. In 24 of them. there’s been at least two goals. We’ll back at least a goal each from both teams here for our MLS picks today.

• MLS Predictions: Both Teams to Score (-150); 1 unit at Caesars Sportsbook

MLS Parlay Picks

We have two games to include in our MLS predictions that can be used in a soccer parlay. Both will kick-off at 10:30 pm EST Sunday night in MLS Matchday 27, and both will feature Los Angeles teams.

LA Galaxy vs Real Salt Lake Prediction

These were two of the hottest teams coming into Leagues Cup. The Galaxy lost the final MLS game 4-2 to Vancouver but had been 3-4-0 prior to that. Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake came in undefeated in ten across all comps and with only one loss in 15 in all comps. But both saw their Leagues Cup campaigns end early. LA failed to get past the group stage losing 1-0 to Leon and 2-1 to Vancouver again.

RSL had more success in beating Seattle 3-0, before losing 3-0 to Monterrey. That was enough to get them to the round of 32 where they beat Leon 3-1, before losing to LAFC 4-0 in the round of 16. So all in all, RSL still only has only three losses in 19 games.

This will be the third meeting between them this season with both previous meetings being in Salt Lake and both ending in 3-2 scorelines. LA won the first matchup in MLS in May, and RSL won the second in the US Open Cup in June .

The form guide shows RSL is hot, but the scoring trends also point to goals. There have been three or more goals in each of their past seven games. and three or more goals in 10/11 as well as in 13/15.

Galaxy games too have seen plenty of goals with 8/11 seeing three or more and 21/23 seeing two or more.

If you look way back across all competitions for the Galaxy, at home they have only failed to score twice in 27 games dating back into last year. So the trends say LA scores at home, but RSL are the top road team in the league at 6-3-3 with 21 points. They should get theirs too. Let’s back goals from both for our MLS predictions today to start off this MLS parlay.

Denis Bouanga has scored 24 goals and recorded 9 assists in all competitions for @LAFC this season

He is averaging 1.18 goal contributions per 90 📈🔥 pic.twitter.com/pqRjOj4rdC

— PFF FC (@PFF_FC) August 9, 2023

LAFC vs Colorado Rapids Prediction

With a bye to the round of 32, LAFC kicked off with 7-1 and 4-0 wins over Juarez and Real Salt Lake. Up to 2-0 to Monterrey, they looked on their way to the final four, but allowing three goals in 20 minutes saw Monterrey pull off the comeback and win 3-2.

Denis Bouanga picked up where he left of though, knocking home six goals in those three games. Carlos Vela scored two in the first game but then left injured. Be sure to check the MLS injury reports on game day to see his status.

Colorado lost 2-1 to Nashville and 4-1 to Toluca in the group stage and called it a day for their Leagues Cup participation.

In MLS, they’re dead last in the West with 19 points at 3-10-10 and have been outscored 30-16. On the road those numbers are 2-3-6 and they’ve been outscored 20-9. Perhaps new DP forward Rafael Navarro can spark some life into the Rapids, but their season is likely all but over.

Meanwhile, LAFC are second in the conference and 7-3-2 at home, scoring 22 and allowing 10.

These teams tied 0-0 in Colorado earlier in the season, but the Rapids have one win in 15 across all comps. It’s an LAFC win for me in my MLS predictions.

• MLS Parlay Picks: LA Galaxy vs RSL both teams to score / LAFC to win (+115); risk 1 unit at Caesars Sportsbook

Before making this week’s MLS predictions, check out the top sports betting sites to get a great bonus for all of your MLS predictions today for Matchday 27 picks.