MLS Odds: Defending Champs Seattle Take On Tough NYC FC

NYC FC (-120) vs. Seattle Sounders (+330), Draw (+310)

New York City FC (7-3-5, 24 points) plays host to the Seattle Sounders (5-4-6, 19 points) this Saturday (June 17th) for the sole cross-conference match of the weekend. It’s the first leg of the Sounders’ east coast tour and they’ll go on to face Orlando City just a couple days later.

As it stands, Seattle will qualify for the playoffs this season but their qualification is far from guaranteed. Tiebreakers have lifted them into sixth place and they’re currently tied on points, wins, and goal differential with the seventh-place San Jose Earthquakes. They’re also just one point above the LA Galaxy, who have played two fewer games.

Seattle came back from an average regular season last year to win the MLS Cup, but if they’re going to pull that off again, they’ll need to sharpen up. Their recent three-game losing streak to Toronto, Chicago, and Kansas City has made reaching the postseason questionable. 

Sitting third in the East, NYC FC are comfortably in the top six, but they still have a ways to go if they want to finish in the top two again this season. After the New York teams steamrolled the conference last year, their dominance is now being disputed by the likes of Toronto FC and Chicago Fire.

Not only does NYC have international megastars like David Villa and Andrea Pirlo in their ranks, they also have quite a few promising young players. Twenty year old Jack Harrison, a product of the Manchester United youth academy, was the most sought-after player in the 2016 draft and NYC FC managed to snap him up. He trails only Villa in goals scored for the club.

Seattle doesn’t have the star talent or the depth of NYC FC. They have some young prospects, like Cristian Roldan and Harry Shipp, but they’re far from realizing their full potential. Of course, there’s still American treasure Clint Dempsey, but at 34, he’s nowhere near as reliable as he used to be.

The Sounders may be the defending MLS Cup champs, but they’ve had a wildly inconsistent start to the season. FC have one of the strongest line-ups in the league, and it’ll be extremely tough for Seattle to beat them at home. Saying that, the league champs could show flashes of their former selves this weekend. If that’s the direction you want to go, check the odds at a few different sportsbooks.

But my recommendation is that you play it safe and go with NYC FC.

Pick: NYC FC (-120)