MLS Expert Picks: Predictions, Best Bets & Analysis for 7/12

Eight midweek MLS games keep us going until the weekend’s soccer betting action which will see the final set of MLS games until late August because of the League's Cup.

Here are our MLS betting picks for this game week.

• Cincinnati to beat the Red Bulls and both teams to score prop bet is +700 with BetMGM Sportsbook
• New England or Atlanta to win and over 3.5 goals is +204 with FanDuel Sportsbook
• Chicago to beat Montreal and both teams to score is +231 with Caesars Sportsbook
• Houston to beat Minnesota 2-0 is +1000 with Unibet Sportsbook
• Real Salt Lake to beat Kansas City 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 is +750 with FanDuel Sportsbook
• A tie and over 1.5 goals between Philadelphia and Nashville is +316 with DraftKings Sportsbook
• Austin to win and over 2.5 goals is +530 with BetMGM Sportsbook
• Los Angeles to beat St. Louis City, both teams to score and Denis Bouanga to score anytime is +289 with DraftKings Sportsbook

Cincinnati (+280) at New York Red Bulls (-110) 

Despite having 19 more points in the Eastern Conference, Cincinnati is an underdog against New York Red Bulls. However, we think the overall leaders get an upset win here.

Cincinnati still only lost two games this year, although it is winless in the last three games, while the Red Bulls have won just two of their past five matches.

These two also met in a U.S. Open Cup clash in May, as Yuya Kubo scored for Cincinnati before a late equalizer from Dante Vanzeir. The Red Bulls did have 35 shots that day,, so they should at least score here. 

Atlanta United (+270) at New England Revolution (-125) 

We expect a lot of goals in this game with two of the highest scorers meeting in Boston. Atlanta United has so far scored 40 goals and let in 35, while New England Revolution has scored 36 and conceded 27 goals.

This means a stunning record of 138 combined goal involvements from just 43 games. New England has also failed to make a shutout in its past five games where it has won three games.

Montreal (+330) at Chicago Fire (-145)

Montreal has lost two games in a row after a defeat against Atlanta last weekend. It has now also let in 29 goals and scored just 20 goals of its own, meaning only Toronto and Inter Miami have worse goals difference records.

Chicago Fire hasn’t been great this year, however, but it has managed to win three of its past four games and even beat Nashville 1-0 at home last weekend.

With this in mind, we think the Fire gets another win.

Minnesota United (+240) at Houston Dynamo (-110) 

After a 2-2 tie at home with Sporting Kansas City, Houston Dynamo has now lost only one of its 12 games in Houston this year - no team has a better home record in MLS right now.

Minnesota also lost 4-1 at home against Austin last weekend and it has not won a game outside of Minnesota since winning at Portland Timbers seven weeks ago.

Real Salt Lake (+270) at Sporting Kansas City (-125) 

The excellent form of Real Salt Lake continued last weekend with a sensational 4-0 win against Orlando City. It has also managed to win at St. Louis, Toronto and D.C. United in the past month, making RSL the best team away from home in the past 10 games.

Kansas has improved a lot during this time, although it has made just one shutout in its last 10 matches.

Philadelphia Union (+250) at Nashville (+105) 

It's an incredibly tough game to call when Philadelphia heads to Nashville, as only four points keep the latter ahead of the Union in the table. Nashville has won one more game too, and sits with the best defensive record in MLS (17).

Philadelphia has also lost to LA Galaxy and Atlanta United in its past two games, just as Nashville lost at Chicago last weekend.

Austin (+330) at Vancouver Whitecaps (-150) 

Austin's excellent 4-1 win at Minnesota last weekend brought it to eight wins and eight losses for the 2023 MLS season. Oddly enough, it has also scored the same amount of goals it has conceded, with 29 going in at either end.

Vancouver has also conceded 29 goals after a 3-2 defeat at home to Seattle Sounders last weekend. Worse yet, Mathias Laborda was sent off that day and is now suspended for this match.

We think recent form and that red card give Austin a good chance to upset the odds here.

St. Louis City (+450) at Los Angeles (-210)

What a game we have here, as first and third place in the Western Conference meets in Los Angeles.

LAFC is five points behind St. Louis in the table after a poor run of form that has seen it win just one of its last five matches. It is still the favorite to win here and conquer the Western Conference for the second year in a row.

St. Louis has scored 40 goals this season, and after winning for the third time in a row last weekend, it should get a goal or two here.

However, we give the edge to LAFC after Denis Bouanga got his 12th goal of the season in a tie with San Jose Earthquakes last time out.