Top 2022 MLS Week 5 Matches to Bet On the Weekend

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With the International Break over and the U.S. Men’s National Team headed to Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, attention turns back to the domestic leagues this weekend. In the U.S. that means MLS action with all 28 teams in action and each team welcoming back players that were gone for international play the last two weeks.

Matchweek five in MLS kicks off a stretch of two solid months of MLS action with games coming at a hectic pace now in multiple competitions. Teams will have to balance MLS games with U.S. Open Cup games and some will also have international games such as the CONCACAF Champions League. This period will separate the contenders in the standings from the pretenders as we take a look at some of the MLS Odds for the biggest games this weekend.

MLS Weekend Games Preview | April 1st Edition

Crew May be Shorthanded as they Host Nashville

After a sluggish 2021, the 2020 MLS Champion Columbus Crew has gotten off to a good start to 2022 with eight points from the first four games. With two wins and two draws, they are one of five unbeaten teams left in MLS, and three of those teams are in the top three positions in the Eastern Conference.

Columbus, in second place, put their unbeaten record on the line Saturday as they welcome Nashville SC to Ohio. They may however be shorthanded as MLS Player of the Month Lucas Zelarayan is questionable with a knee injury. The current goals leader in the MLS was helped off the field in the last Crew game before the break and did not play internationally for the last two weeks.

Nashville has struggled in their move to the Western Conference with just one win and one draw from the first four games. They get center-back Walker Zimmerman back from the USMNT and need to find some offense as they have just 3.5 shots on goal per game this season. Anibal Godoy, who scored for Panama against the US last week, has a goal on the season and Hany Mukhtar leads Nashville with two assists.

If Zelarayan is out, look for veteran Darlington Nagbe to move into the advanced midfield role with youngster Aidan Morris partnering Artur in the midfield. The Crew can look to Gyasi Zardes, Derrick Etienne Jr., and Miguel Barry to pick up the goal-scoring slack. But simply put, no one else can replicate the Argentinian’s magic on free kicks.

The Crew are pretty solid favorites at -105 with Nashville at +310 to take all three points. A draw is +225. Over 2 goals is -125 and under 2 goals is +101.

LAFC Lead the West

After a coaching change, the season is off to a good start for LAFC as they lead the West with 10 points from four games. They have three wins and a draw while joining the Crew as one of the unbeaten teams. They head across the country this week for a duel with Orlando City SC, which sits in fourth place in the East.

This game is a contrast in styles as LAFC are third in MLS with 10 goals and second with a +7 goal differential. Meanwhile, Orlando gets it done on defense as they have allowed just three goals in five games. With Nani, Daryl Dike, and Chris Mueller all gone from last year, the Lions are rebuilding the offense on the fly and have five goals in the first four games.

Junior Urso has two of those goals for Orlando City while Facundo Torres, Alexandre Pato, and Benji Michel have each scored one. Orlando City was one of the few teams that played the fifth game last week during the break, with a 1-1 draw against Portland Timbers. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was back home playing with Peru and Mason Stajduhar made two saves in the draw.

LAFC brought in Steve Cherundolo to replace Bob Bradley as a coach and the results so far have been fantastic. They won their only road game 2-0 at Miami and have scored at least two goals in three of the four games. Former MVP Carlos Vela is finally healthy again and has four goals and an assist in four starts while Ryan Hollingshead has scored twice.

LAFC are favored on the road at +160 while Orlando SC is +165. A draw is listed at +245. Over 2.5 goals is -120 while under 2.5 goals is +105.