Week 5 in the MLS: Player Props, Teams to Back

LA Galaxy (+190) at Portland Timbers (+120) 

LA Galaxy is experiencing one of its worst-ever starts to an MLS campaign with two ties and one draw from three games. Worse yet, it has scored only two goals during this time, but it should beat the struggling Portland Timbers.

Portland was battered 5-1 by Atlanta United last weekend, as it also lost 2-1 to St. Louis City and 3-2 to Los Angeles FC.

With this in mind, the Galaxy should get their first win here.

PICK: Chicharito to score anytime and LA Galaxy to win is +343 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

New York Red Bulls (+165) at Charlotte (+150) 

Charlotte finally got its first win of the season last weekend by beating Orlando City thanks to goals from Enzo Copetti and Kerwin Vargas.

New York Red Bulls has only beaten Columbus Crew this season, as it tied with Nashville and Minnesota United in the games before that and lost to Orlando too.

It makes this game a hard one to call, so we’re heading for home advantage at the Bank of America Stadium.

PICK: Charlotte FC to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 is +330 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Orlando City (+380) at Philadelphia Union (-155)

Philadelphia Union was stunned by Montreal last weekend in a 3-2 defeat against the odds. It now means two losses and two defeats already for the 2022 Eastern Conference winners.

Orlando has had a topsy-turvy time so far, as it is out of the CONCACAF Champions League on the brutal away goals rule, while it has only beaten the Red Bulls so far.

At Philadelphia, we expect another loss for the Lions and for the Union to bounce back with a convincing win.

PICK: Philadelphia to win 2-0 is +800 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Atlanta United (+155) at Columbus Crew (+150) 

Columbus Crew has lost to Philadelphia and New York already this season, beating only D.C. United 2-0. A tie against Toronto two weeks ago means the Crew have let in seven goals and scored only five from four games.

Atlanta United smashed Portland 5-1 last weekend, and we see nothing but another win for it, as it sits top of the Eastern Conference with three wins, 11 goals scored and three conceded.

PICK: Atlanta United to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 is +450 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

New England (+200) at D.C. United (+120) 

D.C. United's struggles continued last weekend with a 3-2 loss at New York City, although it did see Christian Benteke score another goal.

The former Premier League star could be a problem for the New England Revolution after it let in four goals against LAFC two weeks back. 

PICK: Christian Benteke and D.C. United to win +306 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Chicago Fire (+260) at Inter Miami (-110) 

Inter Miami's excellent start to the season has taken a tumble in the past two weeks by losing to New York City and Toronto without scoring a goal. Nevertheless, it still has victories over Philadelphia and Montreal this year.

Chicago is yet to win a game this season and it managed to lose a 3-1 lead and tie 3-3 with Cincinnati last weekend.

We expect a routine win for Miami.

PICK: Miami to win 2-0 is +950 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

New York City (+160) at Houston Dynamo (+160) 

New York seems to have finally found its feet after a loss and a tie in its first two games. The Pigeons edged past the in-form Miami two weeks back, and they went on to beat D.C. United 3-2 last weekend.

Houston got a fantastic 2-0 win over Austin last weekend, but it is important to remember that it was beaten 3-0 by New England and lost 2-1 to Cincinnati before that.

New York should win again.

PICK: Under 2.5 goals and New York to win is +502 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Seattle Sounders (+190) at Kansas City (+125) 

Seattle Sounders is winless in its past two games after scoring six and conceding zero in its first two games against Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake.

Kansas is still without a win this season and has scored only one goal in four games. With this in mind, it should be an easy win for Seattle.

PICK: Seattle to win and Fredy Montero to score is +593 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Cincinnati (+290) at Nashville (-115) 

The unbeaten Cincinnati looks to keep up its early fight in the playoffs when it heads to Nashville.

A lot was expected of Nashville this season, and it has so far beaten Montreal, New York, tied with the Red Bulls and lost to New England.

Back at home, however, we think it will inflict the first loss on Cincinnati’s record.

PICK: Hany Mukhtar to score anytime and Nashville to score is +217 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Colorado Rapids (+400) at Austin (-175) 

Colorado has scored only one goal this season, and that goal even came in a 2-1 loss at home to Minnesota. It has also lost 4-0 to Seattle and 1-0 to San Jose Earthquakes and now sits bottom of the Western Conference early on.

Austin may have lost to Houston last weekend, but we think it will win here as it has also beaten Real Salt Lake and Montreal.

PICK: Austin to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 is +230 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Vancouver Whitecaps (+190) at Minnesota United (+120) 

Minnesota has been arguably the most surprising team so far in 2023 with two wins and a tie from three games. More impressively, it has registered both wins away from home against Dallas and Colorado.

Vancouver Whitecaps is winless so far with two ties and two losses and six goals let in, and we struggle to see how it wins here in this form.

PICK: Minnesota to win and under 3.5 goals in the game is +212 with FanDuel Sportsbook. 

St. Louis City (+250) at Real Salt Lake (-110) 

What an unbelievable start to life in MLS for St. Louis City. It has so far won all four games and scored 11 goals and only sits behind Atlanta in the overall table because of one more goal let in (4).

Salt Lake has lost its last two, and although it is the clear favorite to win here, we're backing this incredible run of form from St. Louis to keep rolling.

PICK: Minnesota to win and under 3.5 goals in the game is +212 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Toronto (+300) at San Jose Earthquakes (-125) 

It's two losses and two wins so far for San Jose, which greatly improved from its terrible start in 2023, as it lost to St. Louis 3-0 last weekend.

Toronto has so far not lived up to its high expectations this year, but it did defeat Miami 2-0 last weekend in a dominant display.

Neither team has impressed so far, and a tie seems a sensible pick here.

PICK: A tie is +230 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Dallas (+410) at Los Angeles (-185)

Seven goals scored and two conceded for LAFC keeps it five points behind St. Louis is in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference, although Los Angeles has a game extra to play.

LAFC tied with Seattle last weekend, but it smashed New England 4-0 before that just as Dallas finally got its first win against Kansas.

The defending MLS Cup champions are an easy pick for this one.

PICK: Carlos Vela to score anytime, LAFC to win and over 2.5 goals is +219 with FanDuel Sportsbook.