MLS Week 13 Odds & Picks: Toronto vs Orlando, Nashville vs Chicago & More

• MLS Week 13 takes place from July 17-18, 2021
• Toronto FC and CF Montreal return home for the first time
• Read on for the odds and our best bets from MLS Week 13

After a brief hiatus during international competitions, Major League Soccer returns with MLS Week 13 which kicks off this Saturday.

It’s a heavy Saturday slate of matches with 11 games from 5:00 pm to 10:30 pm EST. Sunday will feature one standalone match with Minnesota hosting Seattle.

Entering this weekend, Seattle remains tops overall and undefeated in 13 matches. They need to stay that way for five more matches to claim the MLS record for the longest undefeated streak.

Meanwhile, other teams in the West are mired in serious slumps. The Houston Dynamo are winless in six, while San Jose hasn’t won in eight. In the East, Montreal has climbed to fourth during a five-game undefeated run, while Inter Miami is winless in five, with just one goal scored. Atlanta United hasn’t collected three points in their past seven matches, but do have five draws in that time.

Let’s look ahead to the odds and best bets from the MLS Week 13 schedule below.

MLS Week 13 Odds

Odds as of July 16 at DraftKings

Toronto FC vs Orlando SC Prediction

One of four 7:30 pm EST kick-offs on MLS Week 13 on Saturday night sees Toronto, last place in the whole of MLS, hosting Orlando City SC, second in the East.

It’s the third meeting already this season between the teams with Orlando winning 1-0 on May 21 and again 3-2 on June 19. And for the first time since September 9, “hosting” actually means hosting in Toronto. That was the last time TFC played at BMO Field, albeit without fans. The last time the Reds played in front of their actual fans was way back on March 7, 2020. The last 31 games played by TFC, regardless of whether they were designated as the home team or not have been played away from Toronto.

Saturday’s match against Orlando will see 7,000 fans, made up of front-line health care workers, first responders and also some season ticket holders in attendance.

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠#TFCLive pic.twitter.com/aRr0Ik8SJY

— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) July 14, 2021

TFC fired head coach Chris Armas after an embarrassing 7-1 loss to DC United and the team responded immediately with an impressive 3-2 win over the East-leading New England Revolution. Toronto actually took a 3-0 lead before holding on in the end for the full three points. It was their first win in seven and only their second on the season overall.

Orlando entered the break with a 3-1 road loss to Chicago, which followed a 2-1 home loss to the Red Bulls.

Toronto’s matches have seen the highest goals-per-game (gpg) this year at 3.8 gpg and have gone OVER 2.5 totals at a 7-5 clip. Orlando is also 7-5 to the OVER but their matches have only averaged 2.7 gpg.

However, the goals have been coming in bunches in recent Orlando City games with three or more being scored in each of their past six. In those six, the average gpg has been 3.83.

Toronto’s lineup is getting healthier, with the likes of Alejandro Pozuelo and Yeferson Soteldo both back from injury. Jozy Altidore also looks to be back from his banishment under Armas. He hasn’t played with TFC since their May 22 loss to this same Orlando team. Back at home, under a new coach and a win over a strong Revolution side should give them confidence heading into this match. But it’s still hard to trust TFC right now for an outright win.

I’d rather back the goals market given each team’s shaky defensive play of late.

Pick: Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals (-138 at Bet365)

Nashville SC vs Chicago Fire Prediction

At 8:30 pm EST Saturday, Nashville will host Chicago in MLS Week 13.

Nashville’s fifth-place position in the East can be a little deceiving. Yes, they’ve played well and have only suffered one defeat thus far. But, they’ve played a very disproportionate amount of their games at home. Over 12 rounds, they’ve played nine at home and are 4-5-0, with 14 scored and nine allowed. They’ve played just three on the road and are 0-2-1, with two scored and four allowed. No other team has played just three road matches. This weekend’s opponent, Chicago has played four, and everyone else has played five or more, with some having played seven, eight or nine away matches.

Nashville enters this match undefeated in four (all at home) after two draws and two wins. Their last result was a 2-2 draw with Atlanta.

MLS Moves: @NashvilleSC looks to club-record signing Ake Loba to deliver scoring punch https://t.co/uP7J9O2ZSR @pkedit pic.twitter.com/vfGcfVAdlR

— SoccerAmerica (@socceramerica) July 8, 2021

This is once again at home at Nissan Stadium. It could be an advantage for any game, but perhaps even more so against a Chicago Fire team who is 0-0-4 on the road this year. They’ve scored just once, compared to eight conceded.

Poor road form is nothing new for the Fire. It’s a yearly issue and has played a big part in them ranking just 12th in the East so far. Raphael Wicky has seemed to have finally found some form with his Fire side though, at least at home.

Chicago is now undefeated in three after a 3-3 draw (Philadelphia), 3-0 win (Atlanta) and 3-1 win (Orlando) in their last match. It’s really hard, maybe impossible to back a Fire win on the road, but after nine goals in three matches, they look to be able to hang in with Nashville and provide a competitive match. I could see a draw (+300), but also at least both scoring once.

Nashville could also see a new designated player in the fold for this one. Last week they signed forward Ake Loba from CF Monterrey of Liga MX for a club-record $6.8 million transfer fee.

Pick: Both Teams to Score (-130)

Portland Timbers vs FC Dallas Prediction

One of two matches to round out Saturday night at 10:30 pm EST sees Portland hosting Dallas in MLS Week 13.

It’s the second meeting between the sides this season and the Timbers will surely be looking for an improved performance from the 4-1 defeat they suffered in Dallas back on May 1. Portland fell behind 3-0 at half-time and were never able to recover. They also rested several players as that match was sandwiched between two CONCACAF Champions League matches with Club America.

The short break in league play may have come at the right time for Gio Saverese’s team. They’re coming off back-to-back defeats, 4-1 away to Austin and 1-0 at home to Minnesota. They have just one win in their past five matches and are just two points ahead of FC Dallas in the Western Conference standings.

Betting FC Dallas matches has been a relatively easy proposition thus far. They haven’t won much this season (just twice in 12 games). But at home, they’re at least competitive at 2-5-0 (WDL). On the road, where they’ll be for this one, they’re an abysmal 0-0-5 with just two goals scored and 12 allowed.

In their past two matches, they fell 3-1 on the road to the LA Galaxy and escaped with a 2-2 draw against Vancouver with a stoppage-time equalizer.

Dallas’ poor road form, plus the fact they haven’t kept a clean sheet since opening day, could lead to a long day in Portland against a Timbers side looking for revenge.

Pick: Portland to Win (-115)