Two sides from the Eastern Conference do battle as the MLS’ Playoffs Play-in Round begins this weekend. Nashville SC finished seventh in the table while the David Beckham-owned Inter Miami occupied the final qualification slot as they came home a point ahead of 11th placed Chicago Fire.
A series of one-off matches will now decide who progresses to the main playoff section so there’s all to play for in this contest (9pm ET Friday). Here we give our full matchup preview with Nashville vs Inter Miami predictions and betting picks.
Nashville vs Inter Miami Moneyline Odds
All three options in the match result betting start at odds-against (ie: above evens) so there is some value here if we can make the right call. Nashville start things off as favorites for the win in 90 minutes at average odds of around +140. Victory for Inter Miami is the next option in the moneyline market at +210 while the draw in normal time completes the moneyline betting at +190 with the better-known sportsbooks.
For Inter Miami, this is their debut year in MLS and progression beyond the regular season may be an acceptable outcome following a slow start to the campaign. Naturally, they would like to take things further but, as the lowest ranked side of those progressing from the Eastern Conference, there is less interest in Miami as a result.
Nashville finished the regular campaign in seventh place and were eight points ahead of Miami when this part of the season came to its conclusion. Gary Smith’s Nashville are obvious favorites for this game but Miami’s late surge into the playoff play-ins means that they can’t be ruled out.
Interesting MLS Prop Bets For This Soccer Matchup
Inter Miami’s improvement in the second half of the regular season had little to do with the arrival of Gonzalo Higuain. A prolific striker for Argentina, Juventus and Real Madrid, Higuain managed to score just twice in his first eight MLS matches. At the opposite end of the scoring charts, Lewis Morgan finished as Inter’s leading goal-getter with seven.
The stats for Nashville are also underwhelming with Randall Leal and Dax McCarty showing as joint top scorers. Both men have four goals this season but have played more than 20 games to get to that point.
In the first goalscorer betting market, Higuain starts as favorite at what looks to be a short price of +500 (5/1). Leal might attract interest at +1000 while two men who we have yet to mention – Jhonder Cadiz and Rodolfo Pizarro are at +650 and +850 respectively.
Nashville’s Cadiz has two goals in seven games while Inter’s Pizarro has four in 19 so those higher ratios may offer better options in the individual scorer props.
Given that neither side has been especially prolific in front of the target, we’ve been hoping for some improved pricing on Both Teams to Score and the general odds of -130 aren’t the worst that we’ve seen in this MLS campaign.
Now we move on to total goals and, for what is usually a modest bet Over the 2.5 line, average market odds are at +100 (evens) but a push to Over 3.5 takes that to +250 (5/2).
This Nashville vs Inter Miami preview is expecting the tie to be settled in 90 minutes and, based purely on form, it should be a close encounter. Those entering the Correct Score market might look to consider a 2-1 win for Nashville which is listed at +800 (8/1) while the same outcome in favor of Inter Miami increases slightly to +900.
Other props may come in during the lead up to kick off but we have enough markets to form a few interesting betting picks for Friday’s contest.
Our Preview’s Nashville vs Inter Miami Predictions & Betting Picks Verdict
Despite a sizeable gap between these two sides at the end of the regular season, this match could be as close as those moneyline odds suggest. In fact, there will be definite interest in the draw at the end of 90 minutes with the prospect of overtime needed to decide which team progresses.
We feel, however, that this will be won in normal time and, while the momentum may be with Inter Miami after a late push took them into the playoffs, Nashville should have the greater depth of quality needed to come through.
With the prospect of a tight game in prospect, we’ll take Both Teams to Score as the odds of -125 offer relative value in a market that can drop much lower. We could back that up by backing Over the 2.5 total goals line but we need some longer odds to finish on.
So to complete our Nashville SC vs Inter Miami predictions, this preview will finish with Lewis Morgan to score at any time in 90 minutes. By taking an Inter Miami player, this is something of a hedge but Morgan has been a consistent, if not prolific, scorer and he has the capacity to find the net even if his team go on to lose the game. So our predictions and picks for this MLS game are:
- Nashville SC to win @ best odds of +148 with Bookmaker.
- Both Teams to Score @ biggest odds of -125 with Bovada. It is -133 with Intertops.
- Expect Lewis Morgan to score at any time in 90 minutes @ +300 (3/1) with Intertops.
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.