After eight grueling months, the 2023 Major League Soccer regular season is down to its final matchday, where several teams fight for playoff position. It is, indeed, crunch time because it’s now or never for those who are in the chasing pack.
The top seven teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences are guaranteed to make it, while the eighth and ninth seeds will have to go through the wild card round, which is similar to the play-in tournament in the NBA.
It is getting tight down there, which means that the games involving the eighth to 11th seeds in both conferences are of great importance.
Today at SBOTOP, we will take a look at some of these big games to look forward to on the weekend.
Nashville vs NY Red Bulls
The NY Red Bulls were in danger of seeing their MLS-record 13-year streak of qualifying for the playoffs end, but they rallied back in recent weeks to keep their hopes alive.
After a poor run of Major League Soccer 2023 results in August, the Red Bulls have only lost two games this month and are now 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, currently in a four-way tie with DC United, Chicago, and Charlotte.
Their 2-1 victory over conference leaders FC Cincinnati is certainly a big confidence boost. And after beating Toronto 3-0 last week because of Elias Manoel’s heroics (three assists), they will look to do it again against a formidable Nashville side, who were beaten by Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup final weeks ago.
Nashville have been solid at home this season, which is why the Major League Soccer 2023 odds have them favoured to end the Red Bulls’ winning streak.
They are safe from the wild card round because they have 49 points, but they’d prefer to win here because it’ll most likely give them a much more favourable first-round matchup.
Leading the way for Nashville is 28-year-old attacking midfielder Hany Mukhtar, who is currently third in the Golden Boot race with 15 goals, and he also has a team-leading 11 assists this term.
Betting Tip: 1X2 Nashville @ 2.83
Sporting KC vs Minnesota
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, there will be no love lost between Sporting KC and Minnesota this Sunday for the newest edition of the “Nicest Rivalry in Sports”.
Sporting KC and Minnesota both have 41 points, and with Portland, Dallas, and San Jose all ahead of them by two points, a victory (and some luck) will do for these two Midwestern sides.
The Loons recently sacked Adrian Heath, who has been their manager since joining the MLS in 2017, because of their lacklustre campaign. Taking over for them is interim head coach Sean McAuley.
In McAuley’s first game in charge, Minnesota notched a 5-2 win against the LA Galaxy, as Teemu Pukki and Hassani Dotson found the back of the net, with the former scoring four times.
Minnesota are hoping that the “new manager bounce” will lead them to yet another big victory, and maybe to the Major League Soccer wild card round.
But it’ll be easier said than done for Minnesota given their historically poor record in Kansas City (L8), where Sporting KC also have a winning record in Decision Days. Furthermore, Sporting KC led the all-time regular season series against Minnesota (W10, D4, L4).
The 10th-seeded SKC has won three of their last five league matches, with their last win being a 3-2 result against the fifth-seeded Real Salt Lake on Sunday.
Betting Tip: Sporting KC Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 2.13
Vancouver vs LAFC
Even if they both have already qualified for the postseason, Vancouver and LAFC both need additional points for a chance to get the best possible seeding in the playoff bracket.
A win for defending champions LAFC would guarantee them the second seed in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the Whitecaps could finish as high as third if they come out victorious.
Other than that, this is also a battle of two teams that have two of the league’s best scorers, Brian White (Vancouver) and Denis Bouanga (LAFC).
Bouanga is the frontrunner of the Golden Boot race with 19 goals, while White is in a four-way tie for third place with 15 goals, and both managed to find the back of the net in their recent matches.
LAFC come into this game on the back of two consecutive wins, while Vancouver are fresh from a goalless draw. Either way, we should see a healthy dose of goals on Sunday from these two clubs.
Betting Tip: Total Goals 2-3 @ 2.15
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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