Upcoming Match-ups
Tmrw
20
Apr
1:00 PM
ORL
CLE
+4.5
-4.5
207.5
3:30 PM
PHO
MIN
+1.5
-1.5
214
6:00 PM
PHI
NY
+3
-3
208.5
8:30 PM
LAL
DEN
+7
-7
224
Sunday
21
Apr
3:30 PM
DAL
LAC
-1.5
+1.5
224
7:00 PM
IND
MIL
-1
+1
233
Tuesday
23
Apr
8:30 PM
IND
MIL
+3
-3
239.5
10:00 PM
DAL
LAC
+2
-2
227.5

Orlando City SC’s MLS Cup Odds Now +600 After Nine-Match Undefeated Streak

Paul Attfield

by Paul Attfield in Soccer News

Updated Oct 6, 2020 · 9:03 AM PDT

Chris Mueller
Chris Mueller is Orlando City's top scorer this season with seven goals, but has only three in their nine-game unbeaten streak, as eight different players have found the net over that spell. Photo by Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire.
  • Orlando City is riding a nine-game unbeaten streak in MLS and has seen their title odds plummet to +600
  • Lions now have joint second-best odds to win MLS Cup along with LAFC, and just behind Seattle
  • Read on a for a look at the title contenders, the odds and who is the best bet to win the MLS championship

While everyone else on the planet will be happy to see the back of 2020, Orlando City SC will be in no hurry to see the back of it, having quietly developed into a contender during this pandemic-stricken year. In the club’s sixth season of MLS existence, not only did Oscar Pareja’s team make the final of the MLS Is Back tournament, but they are very much a threat to make the MLS playoffs for the first time.

Qualifying for the playoffs should be the least of their ambitions though. With the team currently riding a nine-game unbeaten streak during which it’s averaged just over two goals per game, Orlando has seen its MLS Cup odds drastically improve. Consequently, it is now a joint-second favorite to win alongside LAFC.

But are the Lions the best bet to win the MLS Cup at +600? Read to find out if they can maintain their red-hot form through to MLS Cup on December 12.

2020 MLS Cup Odds

Team Odds
Seattle Sounders +550
Los Angeles FC +600
Orlando City SC +600
Columbus Crew +750
Toronto FC +750
Philadelphia Union +800
New York City FC +1400
Portland Timbers +1400
Los Angeles Galaxy +2200
Sporting KC +2200
Atlanta United FC +2500
New England Revolution +2500
Minnesota United +4000
FC Dallas +5000
Montreal Impact +5000

Odds taken Oct 6 at DraftKings

Can Lions Keep Up?

Given that the highest points-per-game average that Orlando has ever had in a full MLS season is 1.29, set back in its inaugural season, with that figure decreasing in almost every subsequent season, it’s a fair question.

YouTube video

Orlando is currently putting up points at a rate of 1.93, with its 29 points good for third in the Eastern Conference, two back of the joint leaders, Columbus Crew and Toronto FC.

So it would certainly seem that in his second season at the held in Orlando, head coach Pareja has broken the team’s connection with its underwhelming past and has it operating at a high level.

Orlando Scoring For Fun

Certainly, Pareja has the team’s offense firing on all cylinders. With 28 goals scored, the Lions statistically have the best attack in the Eastern Conference, and trail only Seattle (32) and Los Angeles FC (35) in all of MLS in that department.

Certainly, goal-scoring has been vital to the team’s current purple patch. In its nine-game unbeaten run, it has scored at a rate of 2.11 goals per game. But perhaps the most important point is that those goals have been spread around, with Orlando’s leading scorer, Chris Mueller, scoring just three of the 19 goals over that span.

In all, eight different Orlando players have found the net during this time, which bodes well for the team’s ability to find goals when opponents start to key on important players, like Mueller and Nani, when the games count more.

Other Contenders

While Orlando’s run to the final at the MLS Is Back tournament shows that Pareja’s team can compete in playoff soccer – if they can get there – there are still other teams that look like better bets for the MLS Cup.

Out West, the defending-champion Sounders and high-powered LAFC can certainly make a case, while in the East, the Columbus Crew are flying high in the standings and were set for a long run at MLS Is Back before a penalty shootout derailed them against Minnesota. The Philadelphia Union, too, are currently fourth in the East, and made the semifinals at MLS Is Back.

Best Bet

However, it is the team that has beaten both Columbus and Philly in consecutive weeks that still seems the best bet for the MLS Cup. At +750, Toronto FC has coped with the absence of injured captain Michael Bradley well, and since the Canadian clubs have started playing US-based teams again has coped well, getting results against the likes of NYCFC and DC United, as well as the Union and Crew.

TFC’s best-case may well be made by forward Alejandro Pozuelo. The Spanish playmaker is a leading candidate for MLS MVP, and is in a rich vein of form, scoring in each of the team’s last four games, and has seven goals and nine assists on the season.

He has also shown an aptitude for excelling in the playoffs too, having scored twice and contributed three assists in TFC’s run to the MLS Cup final last season. If he can do so again, TFC will be a hard out in this year’s MLS playoffs, even in their adopted home of Hartford.

Pick: TFC (+750)

Author Image