Despite being right in the thick of CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) commitments, Philadelphia and LAFC are listed as heavy favorites in the MLS odds for Week 3 above. Both are listed at north of -200 odds. The shortest draw odds on the board come from the Minnesota vs New York Red Bulls match at +210. MLS odds from March 10 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
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MLS Predictions Week 3
When making your MLS picks for Week 3, be sure to check the lineups for the five MLS teams that participated in the CCL this past week. Each of Austin, Philadelphia, Orlando, Vancouver and LAFC played in Round of 16 Leg 1 ties last week. Leg 2 will continue this week, meaning it s very likely all of the teams will rotate their lineups in some way. When it comes to Philly and Austin, both play Leg 2 on Tuesday, giving a very short turnaround from their MLS matches on Saturday.
Portland Timbers vs St Louis City SC Prediction
The Timbers are 1-0-1 after two weeks after a 1-0 win at home to SKC and a 3-2 loss on the road to LAFC. Now they ll take on the surprisingly undefeated expansion side of St Louis City SC in Week 3.
St Louis has started their MLS journey off on fire with 3-2 and 3-1 wins over Austin and Charlotte respectively. Last week they opened CITYPARK in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,423.
It will be hard for STL to replicate the excitement from playing in their first-ever home game last week. And while they have scored the joint-most goals (6) in the league through two weeks, they have massively outperformed an xG of just 3.0. They ve certainly been lucky, with penalties, own goals and horrendous back passes and giveaways from their opponents. But wins are wins, and when you re two games into your existence, undefeated and leading the league in scoring, you ll take it. That confidence should bode well as they go into Providence Park to take on the Timbers.
Portland hasn t created a ton of shots, with just 17 shots and nine on target through two games. But they do have $10 million man Evander in the midfield who got his first goal in MLS last weekend and new forward Franck Boli from Ferencvaros who could potentially debut.
Portland at home will be a tough out. But they ve also given up 26 shots and eight on target to their opponents. I don t see St Louis keeping a clean sheet but they ve been creating enough chaos out there with their direct style of play that they re getting scoring opportunities themselves. Plus, it s a game taking place at 10:30 pm EST Saturday night, which gives us all the makings of some MLS After Dark silliness.
Portland Timbers vs St Louis City SC Prediction: Both Teams to Score Over 2.5 (+100), risk 1 unit at Bet365
