Toronto FC will begin its MLS Cup title defence on Saturday when it hosts the visiting Columbus Crew and are -165 betting favourites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto FC is coming off the most successful season in MLS history, when they won 20 matches and racked up a league-record 69 points. They have emerged as a strong +350 favourite on the odds to win the 2018 MLS Cup going into Saturday afternoon’s matchup at BMO Field.
Toronto was particularly effective at containing the opposition in their march to the title, allowing just two goals in five playoff games, capped by a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders in the MLS Cup Final.
The Reds have also surrendered just one goal in their past five home dates, including a scoreless draw with Colorado on Tuesday night in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 matchup. That victory sets the stage for a quarterfinal clash with reigning Liga MX champions Tigres UANL, which begins in Toronto next Wednesday.
Pegged as +450 underdogs on the MLS odds for Saturday, the Crew return to action looking for payback after getting bounced by Toronto in last season’s MLS Eastern Conference final by a narrow 1-0 aggregate score. The Crew are winless in their last four meetings with Toronto, and have not scored a goal during a 1-3-0 run in matches at BMO Field.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMi70wVNL3Y
While Toronto FC opens the MLS campaign as the team to beat, the Montreal Impact look to overcome a disappointing performance in 2017 as they travel to Vancouver on Sunday to open their schedule against the Whitecaps as heavy +330 underdogs.
After making an impressive run to the Eastern Conference final in 2016, the Impact took a step back last season, losing their final five matches to finish a distant ninth in the conference standings. They have +2500 odds of claiming their first MLS Cup championship.
The Whitecaps took two of three from Montreal across all competitions last season, and are set as -120 favourites for Sunday’s contest.
Vancouver hopes to rebound from a disappointing finish to 2017. The Whitecaps posted wins in just two of their final six regular season matches before meekly exiting from the first round of the playoffs with a 2-0 aggregate loss to the Sounders. They face tempered expectations as a long +3300 wager on the MLS futures.
Seattle closely trails Toronto FC on the 2018 MLS Cup odds, joining Atlanta United at +800, followed by the Portland Timbers at +900 and New York City FC at +1000, while FC Dallas sits knotted with the LA Galaxy at +1600 on those betting futures.
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