MLS Predictions & Betting tips

Find our free MLS prediction on the overall standings, as well as our expert predictions on all Major League Soccer matches (2025). Lots of information for your sports betting!

MLS presentation - Soccer

The 30th anniversary season of Major League Soccer brings with it the league’s 30th franchise: San Diego FC. After a summer of eye-catching signings, the 2025 MLS campaign is shaping up to be one of its very best.

Major League Soccer is the football championship of the United States. Each season, the best American franchises compete for the MLS Cup, the trophy awarded to the team that successfully navigates the MLS Cup Playoffs at the end of the season. The MLS is a championship that has been evolving more and more in recent years. Football, or 'soccer' as it is known over there, was clearly not one of the first sports to be played and watched in the United States just a few years ago. However, that’s no longer the case as the quality of play in the MLS has rapidly improved in the last handful of seasons.

Many of football’s royalty have opted to end their careers in the States over the years including: David Beckham, David Villa, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Steven Gerrard, Kaka, Pirlo, Thierry Henry and Gareth Bale. More recently, however, the MLS has benefitted from smart recruitment of young talent. Players such as Riqui Puig, Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil, Kevin Denkey and Evander are all players that opted for a move to the MLS and have as such seen their transfer value significantly increase.

Along with the young talent, there are also a number of football’s most famous names, none bigger than Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi. Messi’s arrival is a huge boon to the league and will attract more attention than ever. He’s joined by Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano (as head coach) as the ex-Barcelona players look to win Inter Miami (the club founded by David Beckham) its first ever MLS Cup following their Supporters’ Shield success last season.

Want to bet on the US league? Here are our MLS predictions for the long term. For the matches, go to the top of the page.

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Our free predictions for the 2025 season

With the Playoffs now well and truly underway, the picture grows clearer of which teams have a real chance at lifting the MLS Cup. In the East, there's no denying the fact that Inter Miami are among the top contenders. With manager Javier Mascherano having successfully managed the energy levels of his aging stars throughout the regular season, they now look set go all out in the postseason as they make that final push. Lionel Messi has been on a positively dominant run of form and will be giving opposition defenders nightmares. It's tough to bet against Inter Miami when Messi is playing at this kind of level.

In the West, however, LAFC are beginning to pick up some real steam at the perfect time. Their sensational acquisition of Son Heung-Min from Tottenham in August completely changed the way they look and they undoubtedly have one of the most lethal forward lines in the league now. Teams have to pick their poison on whether to focus more on Denis Bouanga or Son, which then opens up more space for the rest of the attack. They've lost just once since mid September and look good value on the Western Conference side. Our MLS Cup winner prediction: Inter Miami or LAFC!

Do you agree? Do you have another prediction in mind? Place your bets!

2025 MLS - odds on the MLS Cup winner

• Philadelphia Union - 4.33
• Inter Miami - 4.50
• Vancouver Whitecaps - 6.00
• LAFC - 7.00
• San Diego FC - 8.00
• FC Cincinnati - 9.00
• NYCFC - 11.00
• Minnesota United - 13.00
• Portland Timbers - 51.00

Odds taken from Bet365

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MLS Top Scorer: Who will win the golden boot?

Before the start of the season, sports betting sites also give you the chance to bet on the MLS's top scorer. In addition to the odds available below, we also offer you a range of players to watch out for this season in the United States. There are plenty to choose from, with some excellent young players and former stars still effective in front of goal.

Our preference is for Lionel Messi, who shone very quickly when he arrived in the second half of the 2023 season. He's continued to terrorize the league since then, scoring 20 goals last season (while chipping in 16 assists!) despite incredibly playing just 19 games. Since touching down on American soil, the legendary number 10 is averaging just under a goal per game with 39 games played and 34 goals scored across all competitions. Now in his second full year with Inter Miami, the Argentinian international should once again cause MLS defences problems and end the season with another personal accolade.

MLS prediction - Candidates for top goal scorer

• Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
• Christian Benteke (DC United)
• Denis Bouanga (Los Angeles FC)
• Olivier Giroud (Los Angeles FC)
• Luciano Acosta (FC Dallas)
• Gabriel Pec (LA Galaxy)
• Luis Suarez (Inter Miami)
• Emmanuel Latte Lath (Atlanta United)
• Wilfried Zaha (Charlotte FC)
• Chicho Arango (SJ Earthquakes)
• Kevin Denkey (FC Cincinnati)

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Beginner sports bettors - how does MLS work?

As with most American competitions, and in particular the highly reputed NBA, Major League Soccer is played first in the form of a regular season (two conferences), before a play-off at the end of the tournament. Now with the addition of San Diego FC, the distribution of the two conferences is balanced at 15 teams each.

The Major League Soccer finals are played out as follows: the top 7 teams in each conference qualify for the 1st round of the Playoffs. The 8th and 9th-placed teams play a play-off match to reach this stage.

In the 1st round, the teams play each other over two legs. In the event of a draw, there is no extra time, but a penalty shoot-out is held to decide between the teams. From the conference semi-finals onwards, the duels are played over a single match, with the team with the higher ranking receiving the match. In the event of a tie at the end of regulation time, extra time is played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the teams have still not managed to settle the tie at the end of extra time. At the end of the competition, the final between the champions of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference is held, to crown the champion team of the United States.

At the end of the regular phase, here are the places that matter:

• The top 7 in each conference qualify for the 1st round of the finals
• The 8th and 9th teams in each conference play off for a place in the 1st round of the play-offs.
• No relegation system, so no relegation to a lower league (closed league)

To bet on the highly-exciting MLS in 2025, visit Bet365, one of the best sites for Major League Soccer betting. Sign up via this link and enjoy a nice bonus!

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Expert advice for your MLS predictions

To help you bet on this exciting league, we’ve compiled a few tips to help you out. Our competition specialists have selected the most important criteria to take into account before validating your betting slips. They will undoubtedly help you place more reliable bets: 

• Observe the form of key players
• Beware of low-stakes matches in the United States
• Analyse the latest Major League Soccer matches
• Take the time to compare MLS odds between bookmakers

The figures and statistics that will be revealed to you below are of great importance, but obviously do not do everything to make the right MLS bets. You also need to be aware of all the parameters you need to take into account. Here are the most important ones in our opinion.

Observe the form of key MLS players

Firstly, and probably most importantly, it is necessary to analyse the form of the key players who are preparing to play in the match that you wish to bet on. In the United States more than elsewhere, in addition to almost all sports, we speak of a “franchise player”, i.e. the most important player on a team. There can sometimes be several of them, and it is then necessary to identify them.

Their latest performances and their current form will be decisive for your predictions. For example, last year, Denis Bouanga finished as the top scorer in MLS, and helped LAFC finish in third-place in the Western Conference!

Beware of low-stakes matches in the USA

It is very important to be aware of what is really at stake in the match you are about to bet on. For example, if a club has already qualified for the playoffs at the end of the season, but is no longer in contention for top spot, it could afford to rest some of its key players in order to be fresh for the second half of the season. The same goes for a club that can no longer qualify for the play-offs and has nothing left to play for at the end of the season, and could probably play the last few games without being 100% focused.

Before betting on the US football championship, you need to take a good look at the official standings and see what is really at stake for a team this season. For example, there is no relegation, so there is no real pressure on the teams at the bottom of the table.

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Analyze the latest Major League Soccer matches

When betting on MLS, it's essential to understand how key players have performed in recent matches, particularly in matches similar to the one you want to bet on. Players who are in good form will be more likely to maintain their high level of play in upcoming matches, which is why the absence of several of these key players could drastically alter their team's performance.

So always analyse the teams' recent matches and check that the team's in-form players are not absent for the match you are considering betting on.

Take the time to compare MLS odds between bookmakers

inally, and this will have a direct impact on your net winnings, we strongly advise you to compare the MLS odds offered by the different bookmakers before placing a bet. It often happens that there is a big difference between two bookmakers for the same type of bet. For example, a big match like Los Angeles FC vs Seattle Sounders might see Bet365 offering the home side a win at 1.80, while betway will only offer it at 1.70.

At first glance, this may not seem to have much of an impact, but these differences start to add up over the long term. We therefore advise you to sign up with as many bookmakers as possible to guarantee yourself the best odds on the market. What's more, you'll be able to take advantage of the fantastic welcome bonuses offered by the various sports betting sites!

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What not to do for your MLS predictions

In addition to the advice you have been given on how to make the most of your MLS betting, here are some things you should avoid doing as a bettor. Eliminating them from your betting process will help to optimise your results in this competition. Here's what you shouldn't do before placing a bet on an MLS match:

• Ignore the specifics of the American league
• Ignore the statistics and other important MLS figures
• Bet amounts you're not prepared to lose
• Betting on an MLS team that has nothing to play for at the end of the season
• Overvaluing a team because it has a star in its squad
• Not taking into account the home advantage in Major League Soccer

Now you know what mistakes you shouldn't make when betting on MLS. There may be one that you often make without realizing it, so try not to make it again - it's bound to benefit you.

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2025 MLS Prediction: Statistics you need to know

In order to increase your chances of success in your Major League Soccer bets, you may find some data on the league useful. Below we’ve compiled some of the most useful statistics, note that these figures are from the previous 2024 edition:

• Home win percentage: 44%
• Draw percentage: 25%
• Away win percentage: 31%
• Average goals: 3.13 goals per game
• Average home goals: 1.73 goals per game
• Average away goals: 1.41 goals per game
• Quarter-hour with most goals: 76-90 (23%)
• Most frequent exact score: 2-1 (9.6%)
• Exact score 0-0: 6.3% of matches
• Most frequent exact half-time score: 0-0 (25.3%)
• Over 1.5 goals: 82%
• Over 2.5 goals: 62%
• Over 3.5 goals: 39%
• "Both teams score: yes": 63%

The MLS is a pretty spectacular league, which improves year on year and generally puts on a great show. In any case, it's a way of life in the United States. It's clearly the land of excess and show, and soccer is now part of that too. We've seen an increase in the average goals scored per match this year, going from 2.74 in 2023 to 3.13 in 2024. This has also resulted in a significant increase in the Over 2.5 goals betting market, with nearly two-thirds of matches seeing at least three goals scored! 

Away teams also proved to put up more of a challenge this year, raising the winning percentage for the road team from 23% last season to 31% this season. The average away goals scored has also seen a notable uptick, going from 1.07 to 1.41 goals per game this year!

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In short: how do you bet on the MLS and make successful predictions?

If you want to make reliable football predictions this year in MLS, remember to take into account the advice given on this page by our tipsters. An in-depth analysis of each match is necessary, and the key figures on the competition are there to help you. 

It is also useful to familiarise yourself with the general workings of the league and to bear in mind its special features, which make it unique in the world. Happy betting on American Major League Soccer!

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