Orlando City SC vs LAFC Odds & Preview: MLS is Back Quarterfinals July 31

• Orlando City face LAFC in the quarterfinals of the MLS Is Back tournament on Friday
• LAFC, one of the pre-tournament favorites to win it all, are odds-on to get the better of Orlando
• Get the odds, betting discussion and a pick below

Despite a challenging start, the MLS Is Back bubble has been a relative success. The tournament has reached the quarterfinal stage. Orlando City and LAFC meet in the last eight with the California-based franchise heavily favored to book a place in the semifinals.

Orlando have been a bit of a surprise story so far. Few had them as a legitimate contender for the trophy, but the nature of this tournament and some good team performances have powered them into the latter stages. Anything is possible in a one-off knockout, and the odds in the table below reflect a team with a fighting chance of progression.

Orlando City vs LAFC MLS Is Back Odds

Odds taken Jul. 29

LAFC Fire-Power

LAFC’s 15 goals in the tournament so far is four more than anyone else. Only one other team has more than eight. Diego Rossi is the tournament’s top scorer with seven and LAFC have scored two or more in all four of their matches so far. This is a team built to entertain, a team that scores freely and concedes almost as frequently.

Therein lies the problem. LAFC are a side anyone wants to watch, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to success. They have conceded eight in their four matches, including a 3-3 draw with Houston and a 2-2 with Portland. Perhaps Bob Bradley will take confidence from the emphatic 4-1 victory over Seattle Sounders in the last 16, but even then, Seattle created chances and it could have been a very different scoreline.

4 games. 7 goals.

Diego Rossi is leading the Golden Boot race pres. by @Audi.

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 28, 2020

The absence of Carlos Vela has barely been felt. Defense remains the concern for LAFC, as it was before the tournament started. The matches to date have only exaggerated such issues.

In form Orlando

Taking advantage of the struggling Inter Miami and NYCFC, Orlando had their place in the knockout phase guaranteed when they faced Philadelphia Union in their final group game. They were competitive, having to settle for a 1-1 draw in what was an even match with both teams registering similar numbers of shots and sharing the ball.

Let's go! Quarterfinals here we come💪😈#MLSisBack #OrlandoCity #TeamWork #GoodJob pic.twitter.com/7y6W2ogeQK

— Nani (@luisnani) July 26, 2020

The consequence was a last 16 clash with Montreal Impact. Montreal scraped through despite losing two of three in the group. Orlando bossed the match, restricting their opponents to minimal opportunities. Crucially, it wasn’t all empty possession for Orlando either. They might have only won 1-0 through a scrappy goal, but they had another disallowed and registered 12 attempts on goal.

Halting Montreal’s attack is a vastly different challenge to taking on LAFC. Their good run so far isn’t enough to make them favorites, but they have shown what they are capable of. This is a team that can capitalize on a below-par performance from LAFC.

Orlando City vs LAFC Statistics

Back the Over

Goals are a guarantee when LAFC play. Over 3 has hit in all of their matches so far. That looks like the bet to go with here.

LAFC’s moneyline is a tempter too, of course, but their porous defense puts the upset in play. Orlando are unlikely to keep them at bay, though their attack has the talent, and has been playing well enough, to expose the obvious deficiencies in LAFC’s backline.

As always with LAFC, this is a must-watch. We could be in for a thriller.

Pick: Over 3 total goals (-157)