St. Louis City SC (5 wins, 2 losses, 0 draws) welcome FC Cincinnati (5-0-2) to CITYPARK Saturday. Kickoff in the high-profile matchup is set for 8:30 p.m. ET. Below, we preview BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the St. Louis City SC vs. FC Cincinnati odds, and make our best expert MLS picks and predictions.
FC Cincinnati sits atop the MLS with 17 points through 7 games. They are 4-0-0 at home and 1-0-2 on the road this season. FCC has won 3 straight games, all 1-0, and 4 of their 7 games this season have finished 1-0. They have 5 clean sheets and allow just .57 goals per game. FCC is led offensively by F Sergio Santos, who has 2 goals in 7 games played.
St. Louis City, in their first season, started off strong. They won 5 straight games, 3 on the road, and 3 by multiple goals, but have lost their last 2 — a 1-0 home loss to Minnesota United and a 3-0 road loss to Seattle. St. Louis City is led by F Klauss, who has 5 goals on the season.
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St. Louis City SC vs. FC Cincinnati odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 6:44 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: St. Louis City SC +130 (bet $100 to win $130) | FC Cincinnati +190 (bet $100 to win $190) | Draw +230
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: -135 | U: -105)
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St. Louis City SC vs. FC Cincinnati picks and predictions
Prediction
St. Louis City SC 1, FC Cincinnati 1
Moneyline (ML)
SPRINKLE DRAW (+230).
FCC has been good on the road, but not great. They have 2 draws in 3 road games. This mimics what the team did a season ago, ending with 7 draws in 17 road matches. FCC has finished within .5 expected goals of their opponent 3 times in 7 games.
While St. Louis has struggled lately, they still have quality wins over Austin and San Jose early on. They should be able to bounce back and get some type of result here. While they haven’t drawn this season, 4 of their 7 games have finished within .5 expected goals, so they play to the level of their opponent.
This should be a close battle, and for the value, I’d play a DRAW (+230).
Over/Under (O/U)
BET UNDER 2.5 (-105).
Unlike last season, FC Cincinnati’s defense looks as legit as they come. They have held dominant offensive teams like Seattle, Nashville and Philadelphia scoreless. They have 5 clean sheets and rank 5th in the MLS in save percentage. They rank 1st in interceptions as well. They have gone Under this total in 5 of 7 games and in 2 of 3 on the road.
St. Louis sits 6th in interceptions and has had a different season in that regard. St. Louis has gone Under in 1 of 7 games, but they have 2 clean sheets and have held their opponent to 0 or 1 in 5 of 7. They have also failed to score in 2 straight after scoring 3 or more in 4 of their first 5. St. Louis has cooled down offensively and has had a relatively strong defense all season, allowing just 8 goals in 7 games.
Ultimately, both defenses have been strong while both offenses have been inconsistent. With that in mind, play to the strength of the teams and take the UNDER 2.5 (-105).
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