The New York Red Bulls and Charlotte FC will clash in the opening Wild Card match of the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. The Red Bulls are favored to win, but Charlotte will come into the match full of confidence after seeing off Messi and co to clinch their place in the postseason. The winners will face FC Cincinnati in Round One, and here we tell you the best bets to make in our latest MLS soccer betting picks.
What an end to the regular season we witnessed on Saturday. Decision Day never fails to disappoint, and this year was no different. As a result of the last-day results, the postseason is now locked in, and the two Wild Card matches see the Red Bulls take on Charlotte, with Sporting Kansas facing San Jose in the second match.
It’s the matchup between the New York Red Bulls and Charlotte that we are focusing on, but first, let’s take a look at the latest betting to win the 2023 MLS Cup.
FC Cincinnati await the winners of the Red Bulls vs Charlotte, and they are also the betting favorites to win the 2023 MLS Cup. The best MLS betting sites make Cincinnati +333 on the money line to win the trophy for the first time in their history.
Following behind Chris Albright’s team is the defending Champions, Los Angeles FC, who are +600. St. Louis, at +650, makes up the leading three contenders.
Orlando City is +1000, with the two-times winner Columbus Crew at +1200, which is the same odds as a lot of people’s pre-season favorites, the Philadelphia Union. For the record, the Red Bulls are +5000, and Charlotte is +6600. Now, let’s take a look at the match betting.
The New York Red Bulls have the home-field advantage, and this has helped make them heavy favorites to win this match. The bookmakers make the Red Bulls -163 to win on the money line. A draw is next at +300, with Charlotte FC at +400 to take the honors. This is all 90 minutes of betting only.
In the props markets, the yes for both teams to score is -154, with a no at +110. Over 2.5 goals is -154, with under 2.5 at +110. For even more goals, over 3.5 is +188. The odds suggest that the best soccer betting sites expect goals.
Full-match betting is available below on our odds table. You can read more information about the sites our odds are taken from on our best online sportsbook reviews page.
The Red Bulls seem to have found a bit of form at exactly the right time of the season. They’re on a winning streak of three and have won four of their last five. If you take their form back further, they have lost only one of their last seven.
New York clinched their place in the playoffs in the most dramatic way possible. In a game that looked destined to be a stalemate, John Tolkin somehow held his nerve to win the match with a 94th-minute penalty kick away at Nashville. The goal and victory mean New York has qualified for the playoffs in 14 consecutive seasons, an MLS record.
Charlotte also finished the season strongly with three wins and one draw from their final four matches.
They clinched their first-ever playoff spot with a 1-0 win over Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on Decision Day. Kerwin Vargas scored the winner after thirteen minutes. But the match was far from plain sailing as The Crowns had to rely on goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina’s heroics to keep Miami at bay and secure their place in the postseason.
The best MLS postseason betting sites are suggesting this match will have goals. And although we would love nothing more than a goal-fest, we are not convinced.
In their last five games, over 2.5 has come in three times for matches involving New York.
One game had eight goals, two had three, and two had one. For Charlotte, over 2.5 goals have been covered three times in their last five fixtures. One match had four, two had three, and two were under.
Despite this, we feel this could be an edgy affair. And this means under 2.5 is the best bet. At odds against it, it is a good value bet at +110.
We also think a tight win for New York could be the way to go on the money line for our match-winner pick. It looks set to be a close game, and New York has the added home-field advantage. If the money line is too short, then take the Red Bulls to win either 1-0 or 2-0.
Check below for our list of the top sportsbooks where you can wager online:
About the Author
Dean is primarily a fan of English football who regularly attends games, and combining his hobby with his job, he is now a full-time sports betting writer. Rather than going down the educational route into sports journalism, Dean learned his trade by writing for his English football betting website since 2009, where he now boasts nearly 15 years of experience. After writing about football daily for years, Dean has taken the skills he learned and now uses them to great effect writing for numerous affiliate sites across the internet. A general all-around sports enthusiast with a passion for English football and cricket, Dean is also well able to turn his hand to writing about golf, tennis, F1, boxing, snooker, darts, and North American sports. Combining his extensive knowledge and experience with British humor and wit, Dean has developed into a trusted voice within the sports betting industry.
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