Sarah | April 23, 2020 | Updated on: January 4th, 2023
Major League Soccer Cup betting (also known as MLS Cup betting) reaches fever pitch when it comes time to decide who will lift the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy during the last quarter of the year. For fans of the MLS, the Cup final is just as exciting as the Super Bowl or Stanley Cup finals, in which one team is rewarded for their efforts throughout the year. The ultimate game is only made so much more exciting when bettors have some money riding on the result or happenings within the match.
With the popularity of the league growing each year, MLS Cup betting has grown too, especially as most of the league season takes place in a period in which the NFL, NHL and NBA are not active. If you are looking to find out how you can bet on the biggest event in US club soccer, then carry on reading down below. We have listed some great betting tips and stats to help gamblers make more successful bets at US online gambling sites.
Bet on the MLS Cup Here
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MLS Cup Betting Links
- Popular MLS Cup Betting Lines
- MLS Cup Betting Tips
- MLS Cup Odds and Statistics
- Odds to Win MLS
- MLS Cup Winners
Popular MLS Cup Betting Lines
If you’re looking to place any wagers on the MLS Cup, but are unsure of what sort of bets are available to you, then have a look at the options listed down below. Most of the best US sports betting sites offer the following MLS lines on the Cup:
- 1×2 Moneyline – as soccer matches have three potential outcomes, these bets let gamblers decide whether matches will end in a victory, draw or loss. It is important to note that even though the Cup match needs a winner, the 1×2 bet only consists of the activity within regular time. So, if extra time is required to decide the winner of a game, these bets will be marked as a draw.
- Standard Moneyline – with these bets, gamblers predict the winner of the match; nothing more, nothing less.
- Spreads – the soccer betting site sets a favorite to win the match and this favorite is then given a handicap to overcome. Bettors are then able to bet on whether the favored team will overcome the handicap or not.
- Totals – these are bets made on the overall score of the match. Bettors attempt to predict whether the match’s scoreline will go over or under the line set by a sportsbook.
- Futures – these bets need to be placed far in advance of the actual Cup match. Basically, bettors select a team to win sometime before the match. MLS Cup Final odds tend to payout pretty well when bets are made far in the future.
- Props – these are bets made on whether a specific happening will take place in the match. As the MLS Cup is a huge game, there will be a load of wonderful options available to bettors, ranging from outrageous to rather predictable.
Check out our other MLS betting guides:
MLS Cup Betting Tips
Teams in opposite conferences don’t play against each other often so sometimes it can be very difficult to predict the winner of the MLS Cup. Generally, the match often has “upset” victories, where teams surprise audiences and take the lead unexpectedly, and then go on to win the match. It can be difficult to deduce such situations are going to take place, but we’ve got some pre-match betting tips that may come in handy:
- Know the teams’ statistics – if you’re looking to bet on the Cup, you’ll already have a season’s worth of stats to back up any bet you want to make. You should already know whether or not a team is good at both attacking and defending, or is limited to a very specific skill set. This knowledge should help make better bets.
- Learn about the statistics of the MLS Cup – more often than not in all sports, teams that have won championship gold before, are more likely to do so again. So, have a look at the previous MLS Cup results to find out whether or not a team is a likely winner or not.
- Remember home field betting advantage is always given to the team that has won the most points throughout season. In general, if a team is good enough to earn a good position on the overall table, they are probably good enough to win.
MLS Cup Odds and Statistics
Here are few statistics about the MLS Cup that may prove useful to US bettors.
- Less than 50% of MLS Cup final matches have required extra time.
- The home side often wins by 5 times for every 2 losses on average.
- There has only been one MLS Cup final that ended with a 0-0 score.
- Only four Major League Soccer Cup finals have been decided by penalty shootouts.
- Only three matches in the MLS Cup final have had more than four goals.
- LA Galaxy has won the most MLS Cup titles, with five in total.
These few stats will help US gamblers to determine what the odds of a certain outcome are. For example, knowing that only three finals have had more than four goals in total will help when making a totals bet.
A safe but not as profitable bet would be a double chance bet on either team winning since the MLS is volatile and unpredictable. Stats are not hard and fast rules of how bettors should wager. However, they do help in making educated bets, which will greatly boost your odds of winning.
Odds to Win MLS
Many MLS betting sites have pegged Los Angeles FC the MLS Cup favorite this year, despite being somewhat of a newcomer to the league. With coach Bob Bradley at the helm, it seems that the team may have a good chance of winning.
Although MLS outright odds are likely to change, below are some of the latest available. They should give bettors a good idea of which teams will do well this year.
| Los Angeles FC | +250 |
| LA Galaxy | +1000 |
| Atlanta United | +1100 |
| New York City FC | +800 |
| DC United | +1200 |
| Philadelphia Union | +1000 |
| New York Red Bulls | +1600 |
| Portland Timbers | +2000 |
| FC Dallas | +2500 |
| Seattle Sounders | +1600 |
| Montreal Impact | +3300 |
| Houston Dynamo | +4000 |
| Toronto FC | +3300 |
| Columbus Crew | +15000 |
| Minnesota United | +2500 |
| Sporting Kansas City | +6600 |
| Orlando City | +6600 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | +2500 |
| Chicago Fire | +6500 |
| Real Salt Lake | +5000 |
| New England Revolution | +6600 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | +15000 |
| Colorado Rapids | +10000 |
| FC Cincinnati | +50000 |
MLS Cup Winners
Sometimes, having a look at previous winners combined with MLS odds to win can help bettors make more accurate decisions regarding which team to place a future bet on. Thus, we have listed the last 20 MLS Cup winners down below:
| 1998 | Chicago Fire |
| 1999 | D.C. United |
| 2000 | Kansas City Wizards |
| 2001 | San Jose Earthquakes |
| 2002 | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2003 | San Jose Earthquakes |
| 2004 | D.C. United |
| 2005 | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2006 | Houston Dynamo |
| 2007 | Houston Dynamo |
| 2008 | Columbus Crew |
| 2009 | Real Salt Lake |
| 2010 | Colorado Rapids |
| 2011 | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2012 | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2013 | Sporting Kansas City |
| 2014 | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2015 | Portland Timbers |
| 2016 | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2017 | Toronto FC |
| 2018 | Atlanta United FC |