Hat-trick of RSL victories
Real Salt Lake v Atlanta United
Saturday, 02:00
Live on Betfair Live Video
As discussed last week, I’m unconvinced by the Atlanta United revival under Frank De Boer, and the fact that they went down to the ten men of the New York Red Bulls and looked short of sparkle will give Real Salt Lake genuine hope this weekend.
RSL had a sticky patch of their own to negotiate, but they’ve started to fulfil their potential and come into this having won their last two games, with last week’s 3-0 win here against Toronto FC a particularly impressive achievement.
That victory will give Mike Petke’s team confidence, as it came against one of the League’s big hitters, and another good day here should move RSL into the top seven in the West.
I may be proved wrong about Atlanta, whose good recent run has them in fourth in the East going into the weekend, but they are a long way from the Tata Martino side that won MLS Cup last season, and with Ezequiel Barco still away at the Under 20 World Cup, they once again look there for the taking. With price key to us, RSL look big at [2.8] to make it three wins in a row.
Still believe in Seattle
Sporting Kansas City v Seattle Sounders
Sunday, 23:00
Live on Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports Football
Seattle let us down last week, or at least sort of let us down, as they went to Philadelphia and picked up a 0-0 draw. They head to Sporting KC this weekend, and I’m going to back them at a similar price to come away with the win that they maybe should have secured last weekend.
The Sounders had to go to Philadelphia with just three days’ rest, and with Brian Schmetzer deciding to spare several first teamers, they could be even happier with their performance against a team that has been excellent at home so far.
Now they head to an SKC team who sit second bottom of the Western Conference, and with good reason. They’re in terrible form, having not won now in seven games, nine if you include the CONCACAF Champions League, and they threw away three points here last week against an average Vancouver side.
Seattle are a step up from that, and have lost only once all season (against the brilliant LAFC). They are picking up some good habits at the moment, and with a good deal of quality to return to the team this weekend, they look very big at [4.4] for the win.
Cincinnati over-estimated
FC Cincinnati v New York Red Bulls
Sunday, 00:30
Live on Betfair Live Video
Just when we thought that FC Cincinnati’s season had been reinvigorated by the firing of Alan Koch and the temporary appointment of Yoann Damet, they crumbled last week in Orlando, and it’s hard to know what frame of mind this squad will be in ahead of the visit of the New York Red Bulls this weekend.
It had all started so well under Damet: a surprising win against Montreal gave them hope, but last week at Orlando represented a reality check. A 5-1 defeat by a team that has also been struggling, and now Damet has to prepare for the visit of a New York Red Bulls team that is gradually improving and that comes here after an impressive win against Atlanta, achieved with ten men, and a more disappointing midweek draw against Vancouver.
Still, the Red Bulls have won four of their last six, a run which started with a homer victory against FC Cincinnati, and they look overpriced here at [2.64] to beat a team that has lost six of its last seven.
Source: BetFair MLS
