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2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Contenders Expert Analysis

2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Contenders Expert Analysis

Written by on November 10, 2020

Soccer Betting News

Okay MyBookie soccer betting faithful, with the Philadelphia Union taking home the Supporter’s Shield hardware as the top team in the regular season and the start of the 2020 MLS postseason set to get underway on Friday, Nov. 10, now is a perfect time to look at what lies ahead so you can get ready to make your bets against our MLS odds.

Soccer Betting Preview – 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Analysis

On Oct. 29, MLS announced that playoff positions would be awarded on a points per game basis. Here is a look at who’s in the postseason

Eastern Conference

Seeds 1 through 6 automatically for Round 1. Seeds 7 through 10 have a play-in game.

  1. Philadelphia Union
  2. Toronto FC
  3. Columbus Crew SC
  4. Orlando City SC
  5. New York City FC
  6. New York Red Bulls
  7. Nashville SC
  8. New England Revolution
  9. Montreal Impact
  10. Inter Miami CF

Western Conference

Eight teams qualify directly to Round 1

  1. Sporting Kansas City
  2. Seattle Sounders FC
  3. Portland Timbers
  4. Minnesota United FC
  5. Colorado Rapids
  6. FC Dallas
  7. LAFC
  8. San Jose Earthquakes

Teams eliminated from contention

Eastern Conference:

  • Chicago Fire, Atlanta United, D.C. United, FC Cincinnati.

Western Conference:

  • Vancouver Whitecaps, LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo.

Playoff format

The play-in round will feature a pair of single-elimination games featuring the 7-10 seeds in the Eastern Conference.

Play-In Round Picks (Friday, Nov. 20)

No. 8 New England Revolution (8-8-8) Vs No. 9 Montreal Impact (8-14-2) at 6:30 p.m. ET

  • Where: Gillette Stadium

New England finished in eighth place in the eastern conference standings with 26 goals scored and 25 allowed. Montreal finished one spot back while scoring 33 goals, but allowing 43 goals defensively. New England hits the playoffs fresh off their regular season-ending 2-0 loss against Philadelphia on Sunday.

“I think in the first half in particular they were much more aggressive, they put us under pressure, and our passing and inability to hold the ball, to keep the ball was very poor,” manager Bruce Arena said. “That was our entire team. That had nothing to do with our top three players. I think from our back line up, we did a real job with our passing, our ability to hold the ball, to possess the ball.”

Montreal hits the playoffs coming off a 3-2 win over D.C. United on Sunday.

“This game mirrors our season,” manager Thierry Henry said. We always needed to fight, we did it and we didn’t give up. Could we have clinched before? Yes of course. But we did it today, away from home, down at halftime against a team that was hot at the moment and we needed to fight for it.”

Prediction

New England has won three straight and seven of 10 in this rivalry including a 3-2  road win on October 14. While the Revolution aren’t nearly as explosive as the Impact, New England is the far better defensive team in this pairing and playing at home. While I’m expecting Montreal to put up a good effort in this one, I like New England by a goal

Pick: New England 3 Montreal 1

No. 7 Nashville SC (8-7-8) Vs No. 10 Inter Miami CF (7-13-3) at 9:00 p.m. ET

  • Where: Nissan Stadium

Nashville finished in seventh place in the eastern conference while scoring 24 goals and allowing 22 goals defensively. Inter Miami reached the playoffs in its first season in the MLS by finishing 10th in the eastern conference while scoring 25 goals and allowing 35 defensively. Nashville hits the postseason coming off a thrilling 3-2 win over Orlando City on Sunday while Inter Miami recorded a hard-fought 2-1 win over Cincinnati on Sunday to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Prediction

Nashville recorded a 1-0 home win over Miami in their first ever meeting on Aug. 30 while the two played to a scoreless draw in their only other meeting on Sept. 6. As much as I was impressed with Miami’s win on Sunday, the expansion team just isn’t quite ready to get past Nashville in this affair. While Inter has the slight edge in goals scored this season, Miami has been borderline awful defensively in allowing 10 more goals than they put on the board during the regular season. That lack of quality defense will be the reason Nashville narrowly escapes with a one-goal win!

Pick: Nashville 2 Miami 1

Round 1

Nov. 21 Matches:

  • 4 Orlando City SC vs. 5 New York City FC at 12:00 p.m. ET
  • 3 Columbus Crew SC vs. 6 New York Red Bulls at 3:00 p.m. ET

Nov. 22 Matches:

  • 1 Sporting Kansas City vs. 8 San Jose Earthquakes at 4:00 p.m. ET
  • 4 Minnesota United FC vs. 5 Colorado Rapids 7:30 p.m. ET
  • 3 Portland Timbers vs. 6 FC Dallas at 10 p.m. ET

Nov. 24 Matches:

  • 2 Toronto FC vs. higher advancing seed from the Play-In Round at 6:00 p.m. ET
  • 1 Philadelphia Union vs. lower advancing seed of the Play-In Round at 8:00 p.m. ET
  • 2 Seattle Sounders FC vs. 7 LAFC at 10:30 p.m. ET

Soccer Betting News

Odds and Lines: Soccer Lines | World Cup | Champions League | EPL | Bundesliga | LaLiga | SerieA | Ligue 1

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