With just one month remaining in the regular season, this is a great time to look over the Major League Soccer futures board to find the teams with the best betting value to make a playoff run.
FC Cincinnati leads the MLS with 58 points and is the club with the lowest odds of +400 at DraftKings. The league leaders are followed by Los Angeles FC (+650), Inter Miami (+800), and the Philadelphia Union (+900).
Lionel Messi has been on fire since he joined the league, but Miami is still seven points out of the ninth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The surprise of the season has been St. Louis City SC, who leads the West and is +1100 to win the league.
This should be an exciting finish to the MLS campaign. So, let’s dive into our favorite Major League Soccer futures bets for the regular season’s final month.
Major League Soccer Futures Best Bets
Major League Soccer Future 1 – Orlando City (+1400) DraftKings
In my opinion, the East has an easier path to the final, and I think the hottest team in the league is worth a bet at this price.
Óscar Pareja has his team firing on all cylinders as we roll into the playoffs, picking up the most points in MLS over the last ten games (23). The schedule hasn’t been easy during this run, either.
Over this stretch, Orlando has won at Atlanta United and Cincinnati and beaten Columbus and St. Louis at home. Pareja’s squad would be power-rated in my top five if you took the numbers during these ten fixtures.
I also have faith in the Florida club to go on the road and secure a result if it doesn’t claim the No. 2 seed in the East. In fact, Orlando rates higher in big chances created and allowed on the road than at home.
If the club does finish second in the Eastern Conference, the path gets even more manageable by avoiding Cincinnati until the conference final.
Major League Soccer Future 2 – Vancouver Whitecaps (+3000) Caesars
The other team that rivals Orlando in the form tables is Vancouver, and the Whitecaps have even better odds to make them worth a bet.
The Canadian club only trails my first bet above over the last ten games, picking up 19 points. At the time of writing, Vancouver also has a great shot to jump both Seattle and LAFC for the second spot in the West.
Even if they can’t secure home-field for the playoffs, I really like the improvements we’ve seen from the Whitecaps on the road. The team has four wins and just one loss on its last six trips away from home.
This is the most points in the MLS over this span, which includes a victory at LAFC. If the away from continues to match the play at home, Vancouver will be a tricky team to play in the postseason.
Major League Soccer Futures Longshot – Minnesota United (+7500) Caesars
I couldn’t end the Major League Soccer futures article without a fun pizza bet, and I really like Minnesota as the best longshot on the board.
If United sneaks into the playoffs, Adrian Heath’s team will have the players and confidence to make a run on the road. Heading into the final month of the season, Minnesota is fourth in MLS in away points (20).
Meanwhile, United is the only Western Conference squad to own a positive xGDiff on the road, according to fbref.com. This is also the same club that is third in big scoring chances allowed away from home this season.
Whenever you have Emanuel Reynoso and Teemu Pukki in attack, you always have a shot to pull off an upset. The path will be tough, but this team has shown the ability to get it done.
