Major League Soccer is underway again this Wednesday in Toronto as the Reds Host the Fire. Who are the favorites and How are the odds makers
Despite being in the basement of the Eastern Conference, the
Reds have a chance at restoring some pride if they take care of Chicago at home
on Wednesday. Toronto is on their home field, but that's not fazing odds makers
one bit. The books have the visiting Fire as +139 favorites, with Toronto
quoted at +176.
If you think a draw is the right road to take with your
soccer picks, backing that selection would net you +223 in profits at 5Dimes.
Toronto FC
You'd have to go all the way back to July 18 to find the
last time the Reds got all three points from a MLS match. In the seven games
since, Toronto lost five times and drawn twice. They fell at home to Houston
and Kansas City and then lost on the road to Chicago, Columbus and Kansas City
once again.
The Reds have had a nice long break since their latest loss
on September 1 to the Royals, when Ryan Johnson had actually put Toronto into a
shock lead that lasted all the way through 60 minutes. That's when Paulo
Nagamura equalized before Oriol Rosell spoiled the day with a winner with only
a few minutes left on the clock.
As if things weren't already bad for the Reds – they have
the least amount of points (21) of any team in Major League Soccer – they also
lost one of their best players, Torsten Frings to hip surgery. He'll miss the
rest of the season and is joined on the sidelines by Danny Koevermans and
Stefan Frei.
Chicago Fire
The Fire are in the middle of a heated race in the Eastern
Conference. They are currently occupying the fourth spot at 44 points through
26 games.
Every point going forward is of utmost importance
considering Chicago and the seventh-placed Montreal Impact are separated by
only five points. The battle for the playoff spots is still wide open.
The Fire are flying high after a strong 3-1 win over the
Houston Dynamo 10 days ago.
Making the most of their opportunities, Patrick Nyarko,
Daniel Paladini and Alex all scored, giving Chicago the win in a game in which
they were thoroughly outplayed in terms of possession.
Nyarko has a team leading six assists and we also recommend
keeping a close eye on Dominic Oduro and Chris Rolfe.
MLS Pick
The Reds will be playing for nothing other pride, but it's
going to be very difficult for them without a number of their top players.
Frings made everything tick in the midfield and his loss will be felt in a
major way.
On the other hand, having won four of their last five
matches, Chicago is playing well at the moment and obviously have a lot more on
the line.
With the Reds not exactly lighting the world on fire in
their own stadium (3-7-3 with a minus -8 goal differential), we have to take
the appealing price on the better Chicago team. The Fire at around a +140
price-tag seems almost too good to be true.
Therefore, let's add Chicago to our soccer picks for the
week. Good luck!
Toronto 1 Chicago 2
Don't forget about
our soccer handicapping forums – chat about your favorite leagues and teams!