Beaten finalists in 2020, Seattle Sounders have started the 2021 MLS campaign in positive fashion and currently sit on top of the Western Conference. On Sunday (2pm ET; TV: Live on ESPN), head coach Brian Schmetzer’s side travel to Minnesota United who sit in seventh place following a mixed start to their season.
The fact that Minnesota are just six places behind and have home advantage in this tie suggests we could be in for a tight 90 minutes. The sportsbooks agree to an extent and there should be some value in this game providing we make the right calls.
MNUFC vs Sounders Moneyline Odds
Seattle may top the division but Minnesota United are favorites for the three points and you can back Adrian Heath’s men at best industry odds of +120. Victory for the Sounders is next at a general +200 while the draw completes the moneyline market at a top price of +268.
The table may look relatively tight but 14 points separate Seattle at the top from Minnesota in seventh place. The home side have a game in hand on their opponents but the form guide also offers hope for anyone backing the Sounders here.
Across the last five matches, Minnesota won two and drew two before losing to the Colorado Rapids last time out. In the same five-game period, Seattle have won three and drawn two and their most recent match against Houston Dynamo ended in a 2-0 win for Schmetzer’s side.
Based on that form guide, we are edging towards an away win so let’s move on and take a look at the key players.
Prop Bets for this MLS Game
Seattle Sounders are the second highest scorers in the Western Conference with 23 goals from their opening 13 games. No fewer than ten of those strikes have come from the boot of key striker Raul Ruidiaz. The Peruvian has been prolific for Seattle since joining in 2018 and he’ll start as favorite to open the scoring at around the +500 mark.
For Minnesota, the goals have been shared around to a greater extent with a number of players having scored twice in this campaign. MNUFC do not have a prolific goal scorer in their ranks but it may be worth looking out for new signing Ramon Abila. The Argentine has taken time to settle but he should start to deliver on a more regular basis.
It is tricky to find any likely long-odds picks for the individual scorer betting. Sounders have relied so heavily on Ruidiaz that there has been little contribution from midfield but defender Brad Smith does have three goals so far this season.
This preview will move on to team goals betting now and Both Teams to Score is available for Sunday’s encounter at average odds of around -175. Seattle and Minnesota have been finding the net with regularity this season and BTTS would have converted a profit in seven of their last ten combined games.
Total Goals usually offers some better prices and you can back Over the 2.5 line in this fixture at a best of -136. Lifting that a fraction higher to Over 3.5 takes those odds to a general +175.
Finally, we’ll end the prop bet section with some Correct Score suggestions. The draw could be a popular pick in this game and a 1-1 final outcome is on offer at best odds of +600. We think that there should be more goals in this encounter and, if we were to back the draw, we’d consider 2-2 at a general +1200.
However, we are eyeing up a positive result on Sunday. With that in mind, a 3-1 win for the Sounders is listed at best odds of +2800 while the same outcome in favor of Minnesota is much shorter at an average of around +1400.
Our Preview’s Minnesota United vs Seattle Sounders Predictions & Betting Picks Verdict
While the moneyline market is tight, it may be a surprise that Minnesota are favorites considering the relative league placings of these two sides. It’s also worth noting that Seattle are clear favorites to win the MLS Cup at around the +400 mark so there is some value in the away side and we’ll be backing the Sounders this week.
The draw is tempting as the form guide is evenly matched but last year’s beaten MLS finalists have started positively again and it’s a good time to get behind them. As for the prop bets, we’ve looked for high scoring games without much success lately but this fixture should be different. Over 3.5 goals is the next pick while the prolific Raul Ruidiaz should get the Sounders off to a fast start with the first goal. So our predictions for this preview are:
- Seattle Sounders to win on the moneyline @ +255 with BetOnline.
- Over 3.5 goals @ + 185 with Bovada.
- Raul Ruidiaz to score the first goal @ +500 (5/1) with Bovada.
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.