The Philadelphia Union are in search of a win. Philadelphia hasn’t been able to pick up a victory since their season opener, falling on the road against Colorado and drawing at home with Columbus and San Jose.
Their opponents, Orlando City SC, are looking to make it three wins in a row. The Lions had a rough start to the year, but they have looked better over the last few weeks, winning two thrilling games. This will be just their second road test though.
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MLS Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Orlando City SC +309
Philadelphia Union -125
Draw +283
Over/Under 3
Odds Analysis
Unsurprisingly, we see another match where the home team is an odds-on favorite. As I’ve stated before, the MLS has one of the biggest home/road disparities you will find in soccer, so this is no surprise. The home team is 3-1-1 in the five previous meetings between these teams, and the home side won both games last year. Philadelphia dominated Orlando 6-1 here last October.
Recent Form
Orlando City is somewhat lucky to be in the position it is in. The Lions were incredibly fortunate to notch a draw in their season opener against D.C. United, and needed a brace from Dom Dwyer and an 86th minute goal from Josue Colman to secure their first win two weeks ago.
That pales in comparison to what we saw last week though. Portland had hounded Orlando City’s defense throughout the match and were up 2-0 heading into the 80th minute. Then, the defense fell apart and the Lions pounced with three goals in the span of eight minutes to get the win. Dom Dwyer was the hero of the day, beating two defenders and the goalkeeper on the winning goal.
Philadelphia has had a real tough time scoring goals this season. The Union have tallied just three goals in four games, and two of those three goals came in the season opener when their opponent was playing with just 10 men after an early red card.
Both Columbus and Colorado held the Union scoreless in subsequent weeks. Last week, Philadelphia finally broke the drought with a goal midway through the second half against San Jose. A goal from Alejandro Bedoya salvaged a 1-1 draw for the Union.
Key Absences
This week it looks like Orlando City manager Jason Kreis will have a full roster to pick from. Forward Stefano Pinho was the only player listed on the injury report last week for the Lions, but he came on for Justin Meram against Portland. There was no one else listed on the report as of Wednesday.
Philadelphia is not so fortunate. Defensemen Fabinho and Richie Marquez have already been declared out as both are still recovering from surgery. It looks like fellow defender Josh Yaro will miss the match too with a hip strain. Yaro is officially listed as questionable on the injury report, but all indications seem to point to him sitting out for this one.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
It’s not often that I will advocate betting on a road team in the MLS. However, this is a good time to grab Orlando City. The Lions have looked great on offense since Dom Dwyer returned to the lineup, and offseason acquisitions like Justin Meram, Chris Mueller, and Sacha Kljestan are starting to gel with Orlando’s attack.
Orlando has had some issues at the back and will allow a goal or two, but the offense will pick apart Philadelphia’s banged up defense. That makes the over a solid play in this game as well. Don’t be surprised if we see five or six goals.
Major League Soccer Odds: Orlando City SC 3 Philadelphia Union 1
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