On Saturday, New York City FC will travel to Providence Park to take on the Portland Timbers for the MLS Cup. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. Below, we preview the Portland Timbers vs. New York City FC odds and lines, and make our best MLS bets, picks and predictions.
Obviously, being in the league final is not easy and both have had impressive stretches of play to get here. For NYCFC, they finished fourth on the Eastern Conference table.
For the playoffs, they defeated Atlanta United FC 2-0. Then, drawing top-seeded New England Revolution, NYCFC won in penalties after a 2-2 finish in extra time.
Finally, NYCFC defeated Philadelphia in Philadelphia 2-1. They’ve won two straight playoff games on the road so traveling to a soccer mecca shouldn’t be a huge challenge.
That said, Portland finished fourth in the West, scoring the second-most goals in the conference. The Timbers defeated Minnesota 3-1 then drew top-seeded Colorado, sending them home with a 1-0 loss. Portland then took down Real Salt Lake 2-1. This will be their third home playoff game.
Portland Timbers vs. New York City FC: Odds, picks and predictions
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 3:15 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Portland Timbers +165 (bet $100 to win $165) | NYCFC Y +155 (bet $100 to win $155) | Draw +225
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: +100 | U: -135)
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Prediction
Portland Timbers 2, New York City FC 2 (Portland 4-3 in penalties)
Money line (ML)
“LEAN” to the DRAW (+225). There really isn’t a bad pick on this money line as these two teams are so tightly matched. Portland’s defense should be the main concern in this one.
The Timbers also don’t have as impressive of a resume. It was assumed the Sounders and Sporting KC were the best teams in the West. Portland drew Real Salt Lake, Minnesota, and Colorado.
While NYCFC feels like the better team on paper (they had a 20 goal differential on the season compared to Portland’s four), the Timbers were 11-4-2 at home.
It’s going to be extremely difficult for NYCFC to leave with a win, let alone one in regular time. With that in mind, I’d play the DRAW (+225) for a tiny wager.
Over/Under (O/U)
BET the OVER 2.5 (+100) as the best wager. Both teams have had lethal attacks so far in the playoffs. New York City has scored 2 goals in each of their three games, allowing 3.
On the other side, Portland has averaged 2 goals per game as well. Considering both teams rode their offensive firepower into a top-four seed in their respective conference, I’d bet that happens in this one.
As noted before, Portland’s 52 goals in 34 regular-season games are also concerning enough to bet against their defense.
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