The Leagues Cup continues with the final set of group games this weekend. Sunday’s all-MLS duel between LA Galaxy and Vancouver Whitecaps is among the many ties taking place. While the Women’s World Cup takes center stage, the men have paused the main league to compete in this tournament. American and Canadian teams have seen mixed results and the Leagues Cup has been met with a mixed reaction.
Unfortunately for the players and fans of both sides, this is now a dead rubber. Following Galaxy’s group defeat to leaders Leon on Wednesday night, neither of these MLS teams can progress to the next round. Pride is all that’s on the line, but maybe that will lead to an entertaining fixture with some potential to profit among the betting markets. Read on for our betting preview with predictions and picks.
LA Galaxy vs Vancouver Whitecaps kicks off on Sunday (9pm ET) and the top-rated stateside sportsbooks are pointing to a clear winner in this one. With the benefit of home advantage, Galaxy are the favorites and are available at general odds of 4/6. A win for Vancouver is next at 13/5, while the draw completes the match betting at 14/5.
Both teams are placed in the West 3 Group along with the Mexican side Leon. Last time out, Vancouver gained a point after drawing 2-2 with the Mexicans, but the team lost the subsequent marathon penalty shootout 16-15.
It was Galaxy’s turn to take on Leon in midweek, and the American club went down by a solitary goal. It means that the Mexicans have progressed to the knockouts, while the two MLS teams may have to see this as a warm-up for when the league resumes next month.
First Goalscorer markets have been a little slow to come in, following LA Galaxy’s game in midweek. These will fill up in the hours leading up to kick-off, but who are the players to watch here? In the Vancouver Whitecaps camp, Brian White is the leading scorer with eight goals so far this season. A good value pick for Vancouver could be Ryan Gauld. The Scot has seven goals from midfield and he scored twice in his team’s most recent MLS game.
The overall favorite for the first goal is likely to be Tyler Boyd. LA Galaxy have found goals hard to come by this season, but Boyd is their leading scorer with four strikes from 22 games.
In other side bets, Both Teams to Score is quoted for Sunday’s tie at 19/20. Those that prefer the ‘no’ option on BTTS can claim 11/8.
Over in the Total Combined Goals betting, a stake Over the 2.5 line will currently be paid out at 9/20. By pushing that to Over 3.5 goals, we can lift that price to 5/4. Those that feel there will be a subdued 90 minutes in prospect could bet Under the 2.5 line which will return odds of 11/8.
As for the Correct Score, the online bookies are looking at a home win and, if you agree, you could opt for LA Galaxy 2 Vancouver Whitecaps 1 at 15/2. The same scoreline in favor of Vancouver is quoted at 12/1, while the 1-1 draw is available at 6/1.
Our Preview’s LA Galaxy vs Whitecaps Predictions & Betting Picks Verdict
In the MLS standings, Galaxy are trailing Vancouver by some margin. The LA team are second from bottom in the Western Conference with 22 points, while the Canadians are in seventh with 31 points. Those stats alone suggest that there may be some value in getting behind the away side.
The most recent fixture in LA between these two sides resulted in a 1-1 draw as Galaxy hosted the Whitecaps on March 19th. However, we only have to go back to the final MLS game before the break to find a more interesting result. At BC Place on July 16th, Vancouver beat Galaxy by the emphatic scoreline of four goals to two.
Even if the favorites were to come through, it should be a lot tighter than the sportsbooks are suggesting in the match result betting.
The fact that there is nothing riding on this tie makes things tricky. It could lead to a subdued game and that’s why we are looking at a share of the points. Both Vancouver and Galaxy have more important games coming up, and we may even see some key players rested.
This preview and its predictions will take the draw, and we’ll also finish with Under 2.5 Goals. A quiet 90 minutes is a likely scenario for a game that is probably an unwelcome fixture ahead of the resumption of Major League Soccer. So these are our betting picks for this Leagues Cup matchup:
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.