All eyes may be on London for the Olympics
but there’re goals waiting to burst across the pond in the MLS when the
Philadelphia Union take on the New England Revolution.
The bookies fancy Philadelphia on this one
and have them offered up at -110, while an away win is at +260. This
handicapper reckons that the adage that you never see a poor bookie is right on
the nose with this one!
Quick on the draw
Both sides have two defeats in their last
five outings but the away side have to carry the can of just one victory in
their past five. The Revolution have scored just five goals in their last five
games and conceded...would you believe it the same number. If that’s the only
stat you want to base your soccer betting on go for a draw, at +240 with the
oddsmakers and a 1-1 draw at that, offered up at +600. However, the bookies
seem to expecting goals as a goalless game is at +1000.
Easy score / Easy concede!
Philadelphia recently recovered from a
dreadful run but they came doubly unstuck against Aston Villa (1-0) and the New
York Redbulls (2-0) in their last two. Philly’s are relying heavily on their
home form, having recorded just two wins in the nine matches they have played
away from Philadelphia this season. What does that tell you?
The Union have also conceded five goals in
their last five but have scored nine, THAT stat would suggest a 2-1
Philadelphia win, something that the bookies think is more likely that the
aforementioned 1-1, at +800. The biggest factor gleaned for these sides recent
form is that the Union have lost two games on the bounce, and have failed to
score in BOTH those defeats. If you fancy that that will continue you can pick
up 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 to the Revolution at +900, +1600 and +4000 respectively.
But I’m not betting that way
Despite the back to back defeats the Union
are the tougher side. And before any rabid Revolution fan rushes to point out
that New England are squatting above them in the table, I’d like to remind them
that “squatting” is probably the right word as they only enjoy priority seating
in the standings by three points and the
Union have not one, but two (count ’em) all important games in hand.
Union Dues
New England will hope that Philadelphia’s
distractions off the pitch will flow over onto the field and cause confusion
within the Union. Philadelphia are being sued by their former Team Manager
Peter Nowak, for breach of contract stemming from his firing in June. The club
issued a statement reading, "The team disputes the allegations in complaint
and will vigorously defend against the lawsuit, "Nowak is seeking at
something in the region of $150,000 from the club.
Nowak was P-45’d after a 2-7-2 start, so
I’d not bet on him seeing much of that $150,000
Back on pitch side
Philadelphia have a couple of reasons to
expect a decent return at the weekend, Union midfielder Michael Farfan and
defender Carlos Valdes featured in Wednesday night's 3-2 MLS win over Chelsea
at PPL Park. They are likely to be primed for greater glory ion a proper game.
Very Rev(erend)
Last weekend’s New England grind house
performance at Livestrong Sporting Park was an example of the Revolution’s
fortitude. Despite the Revs conceding the majority of possession in a 0-0 draw
with Sporting Kansas City. It was a performance (and result) that pleased head
coach Jay Heaps, “The Kansas City game is a building block for us defensively.
We’ve had a couple games like that defensively, but we haven’t put together a
full 90-minute performance where we have the passing we know we can do – that
we’re good at – with those tight defensive responsibilities without giving up
anything.” Time will tell.
Someone is due a win, Philly may be out to
avoid three games without a win (counting the Villa friendly) however the
Revolution have not beaten Union in four times of asking. I wouldn’t blame
anyone for backing a draw, but I have a good feeling about Philly! Despite the
fact that the last game was a 4-4 thriller, the two games before that were all
one way Union traffic with a 3-0 and a 2-1 win. Another 4-4 is offered up at
+1500, 3-0 is at +1800 2-1 is at +800.
Soccer Pick: There will be goals, there will
be a winner and it’s gonna’ be Philadelphia. Let’s go for 2-0 at +1000.