MLS Week 8 Odds & Picks: Toronto vs Orlando, Columbus vs Chicago & NYCFC vs New England

• MLS Week 8 kicks off on Friday, June 18, 2021
• Columbus play their last game at Crew Stadium, while Austin FC opens the new Q2 Stadium
• Read on for the odds and our best bets from MLS Week 8 here

After a little over two-week break which saw only one game being played, a 1-1 draw between SKC and Austin, Major League Soccer returns for MLS Week 8 on Friday, June 18, 2021.

The round kicks off with two matches on Friday, followed by ten on Saturday and one standalone on Sunday in Atalanta United vs Philadelphia Union.

On the same day that we see one stadium close, Crew Stadium in Columbus, we’ll also see another open. Austin FC, after eight matches on the road, will raise the curtain on the new Q2 Stadium in their home opener against the Colorado Rapids. Meanwhile, Chicharito and the LA Galaxy will entertain the league-leading Seattle Sounders in what looks to be a potential match of the weekend.

While the break in the league may be over, obviously the Euros and Copa America competitions are still going. Therefore it will be important to check on the lineups and see which teams have key pieces away on international duty.

Let’s look ahead to the odds and best bets from the MLS Week 8 schedule below.

MLS Week 8 Odds

Odds as of June 17 at DraftKings

	Promo: Bet $5, Get $200 in Bonus Bets + NBA No Sweat SGP	Learn More
	Promo: Bet $5 Get $150 in Bonus Bets	Learn More
	Promo: Up To $1,500 in Bonus Bets Paid Back	Learn More

Columbus Crew vs Chicago Fire Prediction

The season hasn’t started the way either of these teams would have liked so far. Columbus are now off the back of two wins, but are just 3-2-2 (WDL) on the year and sit sixth in the East. Meanwhile Chicago has just a single win at 1-1-5 and rank 13th. They’ve scored just four goals and conceded 11.

The two will be one of four 7:30 pm EST matches to kick off on Saturday night

Still so soon into the season, it’s hard to compare much from home and away records. However, the Crew are undefeated at home at 2-1-0, scoring five and conceding just two. While the Fire, poor all around so far, are even poorer away from home at 0-0-3. They’ve scored just once, while allowing six on their travels.

We are The Crew. We are family.

Our home is 𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫.𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝. #Crew96 | @LowerFieldCbus pic.twitter.com/NVwzYLkgZa

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) June 15, 2021

Sticking with the theme of home fields, this is a big one for Columbus. With the team set to move into the brand new Lower.com Field on July 3 against New England, and being on the road the next two weeks to Philadelphia and Austin, Saturday will mark the final game ever to be played at the historic Columbus Crew Stadium. A capacity crowd is expected for the first time since March 1, 2020.

Last year it was a 2-2 draw in Chicago and 3-0 Crew win in Columbus when these teams met. Across all competitions the draw has been the most likely outcome between these teams of late with six of seven ending in a stalemate.

🗓 At Columbus this weekend then back home for four straight 🗓

6/19 at @ColumbusCrew
6/23 vs. @fccincinnati
6/26 vs. @PhilaUnion
7/3 vs. @ATLUTD
7/7 vs. @OrlandoCitySC pic.twitter.com/eAY6sS1hqO

— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) June 15, 2021

It’s always tough to win on the road and if there’s a matchup where that has held true more than any other, it’s this one. Across all competitions a road team has only won three of the past 30 encounters. The numbers for road teams get even worse if you keep going back, but I chose to stop at the 30-game mark.

Then there’s Chicago individual overall road record. Put simply. It’s awful. In MLS, over their past 40 road matches they have just two wins and boast a woeful record of 2-11-27.

Add in the fact that the Fire will be without the services of Przemyslaw Frankowski (Poland) and Gaston Giménez (Paraguay) and it all seems to point towards a Crew win as they close the doors of Crew Stadium.

Pick: Columbus Crew to Win (-122)

Toronto FC vs Orlando City SC Prediction

At 7:30 pm on Saturday Toronto will host (in Florida) Orlando in MLS Week 8 action.

This is the second meeting of the season between these sides. The first came nearly one month ago on May 22 when Tesho Akindele’s 12′ minute goal stood up as the only marker in a 1-0 Orlando win.

For Orlando, that’s now five out seven matches which have fallen UNDER the 2.5 match total this season. They entered the break dropping a 2-1 result to the New York Red Bulls. Their only other match which saw the total go OVER 2.5 came in a 3-0 route of FC Cincinnati. Overall they are 5-2 to the UNDER.

In total Orlando has scored eight goals on the year while only conceding four.

Toronto, just 12th in the East, compared to fifth place Orlando, have struggle to get into gear so far this season. In seven matches, they have just a single win and sit at 1-2-4 (WDL). Heading into the break, they lost back-to-back matches, one against Orlando and another (2-1) against Columbus.

They’ve also been dealing with controversy surrounding longtime star striker Jose Altidore. He’s been training alone away from the team during the break after a heated exchange with head coach Chris Armas. Altidore’s status with the team is stlll up in the air.

Toronto FC star striker Jozy Altidore remains in limbo as the MLS team returns to action after the international break.https://t.co/mzbbLNaRsb

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 14, 2021

Even though Toronto’s matches have averaged 2.9 goals per game, they are still 4-3 to UNDER 2.5 totals. TFC have scored multiple goals just twice, but have allowed multiple goals on four occasions. Overall they’ve scored just eight goals on the year, while conceding 12.

With both teams only managing to averaging 1.14 goals per game, each ranking near the bottom of the league in shots on target (20th Orlando and 25th Toronto) and potentially needing time to dust off some rust after the break, I see another tightly contested low-scoring match between them.

Pick: Under 2.5 (+102)

New York City FC vs New England Revolution Prediction

One of the matches of MLS Week 8 sees NYCFC (4th in the East) vs New England (1st East) at 7:30 pm EST Saturday night.

Each team has only allowed seven goals on the year, with NYCFC scoring 13 and New England scoring 11.

New York may have more goals scored, but five of their 13 came in a 5-0 rout of Cincinnati. Otherwise they’ve only scored multiple goals on two other occasions. In their last game, a 2-1 win over LAFC, their second goal, the game winner, came in the 90′ minute.

New England’s matches have mostly all been tight. They’re undefeated in four matches after a 1-0 win over Cincinnati in their last match. Outside of a 3-1 home win over the Red Bulls in Week 6, Revs’ matches have gone UNDER 2.5 totals in four of their past five.

In three matches against each other last season, both won on the road. NYCFC 2-0 and New England 2-1, while they split the points in a 0-0 draw in New England as well.

On the season, NYCFC have allowed by far the fewest expected goals against (xGA) at 5.8. The next lowest is Nashville at 6.1 and LAFC at 7.3. New York has also allowed the fewest shot attempts in MLS with just 66.

A draw could be likely here, but so too would be a low-scoring result for one side.

Pick: Under 2.5 (+123)