Same old Cincinnati
FC Cincinnati v Montreal Impact
Saturday, 18:00
Things were getting so out of hand for Cincinnati that they had to change something, and that news finally arrived this week, with word that Alan Koch had been fired and replaced, for the time being at least, by his assistant Yoann Damet.
Cincinnati are favourites for the visit of the Montreal Impact, which I find surprising. A look into the bare stats tells us how bad Cincinnati are. They’ve lost five games in a row, lost six of their last seven, and they have failed to score in all of those defeats. The last goal that they scored from open play was EIGHT games ago, in New England.
Let’s remember that Damet was part of that decline, and so this isn’t a case of a fresh voice in the dressing room who’s able to take the team in a new direction, more an extension of the old regime which has failed so badly in recent weeks.
Montreal are not the best team in MLS, but they have won three of their last four games, including their last two away, and are fresh from an inspiring midweek victory at Red Bull Arena. They are way overpriced here at around [3.0], and we should take advantage.
Timbers underestimated
Vancouver Whitecaps v Portland Timbers
Saturday, 03:00
Live on FreeSports
The Portland Timbers have only three games of their marathon road trip at the start of this MLS season to go, and their latest journey takes them to Canada, to face a Vancouver Whitecaps team who grabbed only their second win of the current campaign when they won in Colorado last time.
The Timbers have found a road rhythm, though, and Giovanni Savarese must be thrilled with the way his team has responded to their catastrophic start to the campaign. Last week at RSL made it three wins in a row, and now that the end of the road at a refurbished Providence Park is near, they’ll feel that they can extend their run of victories to four, especially with Diego Valeri in a rich vein of form.
You’ll often find away teams priced a little too big in MLS, the long travel distances being the reason for that, and I think that’s the case here. Portland are a better team than Vancouver, and are in form. They shouldn’t be as big as [2.9] for the win.
DCU too much for Kansas
DC United v Sporting KC
Monday, 00:00
Live on FreeSports
DC United have had a surprisingly patchy start to the season, still starting this weekend second in the Eastern Conference, but not as consistent as Ben Olsen would like. That explains why we can back them at [2.2] to beat Sporting KC, and I think that we should take the opportunity.
Something is not quite right at SKC, and while I’m fairly sure that Peter Vermes will be able to adjust and get things right over the course of a long season, I’m not convinced that he’ll get any kind of instant reaction.
Sporting KC were badly beaten at home by Atlanta last weekend, and they have now failed to win in five in MLS, losing two of those. Their experience in the CONCACAF Champions League has clearly thrown them, and they’re still feeling the after-effects of that heavy defeat to Monterrey.
DC have won only one of their last four at home, but they’ve played better than that, and I expect them to show us the kind of form of which they’re capable. They have, after all, won three of their last five in MLS, and that constitutes a lot more quality than Sporting KC have been exhibiting. Vermes will come to defend, DC will be too good.
Source: BetFair MLS
