The 2024 Major League Soccer regular season, the 29th season of the MLS, kicked off in February and runs through to October 21st. MLS Cup Playoffs begin in late October and conclude with the 2024 MLS Cup on November.
2024 sees Colombus Crew (+1600 to win the MLS Cup) enter the competition as the defending MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield champions and FC Cincinnati (+1300) as the runner-ups, the latter having defeated Toronto FC 3-2 in front of 19,770 spectators.
More than 10 million fans went to MLS games in 2023, proving that soccer is growing in the United States. Last year saw St. Louis City SC join the league as an expansion franchise, taking the total number of teams to 29.
Due to the vastness of the United States, the MLS is split into the Eastern and Western Conferences to reduce the amount of travel required, although there is still plenty of that to do. An MLS season is split into two distinct parts. The regular season sees each team play a total of 34 matches, 17 at home and 17 away, taking on their conference opponents twice during the regular season and one non-conference opponent once.
Once the regular season is over, the top nine teams in each conference of the MLS standings progress to the Conference Quarterfinals, with the winner of each conference enjoying a bye into the Semifinals. These playoffs then pit the best MLS sides against each other, culminating in two teams facing off in the MLS Cup, the most prestigious title in the MLS.
The Supporters’ Shield is awarded to the MLS team with the best record during the regular season. FC Cincinnati won this title in 2023 for the first time in their history.
Popular MLS bets, like in most soccer leagues around the world, are those relating to individual matches although season-long MLS futures betting is also popular. Be A Better Bettor has MLS experts who regularly select their picks for games each week, so if you like to bet on the MLS you have come to the right place.
Best MLS Soccer Betting Lines
MLS betting odds vary depending on the sportsbook you use to place your wagers. We have several betting partners who offer a range of MLS betting markets from outright results, to first goalscorer, moneylines and over/under markets.
Check out the current list of betting partners to see if you qualify for an exclusive welcome bonus that you could use to boost your MLS betting bankroll.
More sub competitions
What Are The MLS Soccer standings
The MLS standings change week by week and are the best indicator to how an MLS team is performing. Teams often get off to a flying start only to falter as the season progresses.
You should expect a team towards the top of its respective conference to have much shorter betting odds than those teams languishing towards the bottom, although this isn’t always the case as home teams have a distinct advantage in the MLS, more so than almost any other soccer competition in the world.
Feast your eyes on the current MLS standings and use this information to help you make a profitable MLS bet this week.
MLS Teams Likely to Challenge for the MLS Cup
The 2024 MLS season is going to be long and hard-fought as at least a dozen teams will fancy their chances of MLS Cup glory thanks to the playoff element of the competition.
Despite having only reached one MLS Cup final, Philadelphia Union are the top 3 +600 favorites to win the 2024 competition.
Reigning MLS Cup winners Colombus Crew are the +1600 top favorites, to win the 2024 MLS Cup. Colombus Crew third fourth in the Western Conference table last season.
A good outside bet for the 2024 MLS Cup could be Galaxy’s L.A. rivals Los Angeles FC who finished fifth overall in the debut season and third in the Western Conference. They made it to the final of the MLS Cup last season only to lose out to the Colombus Crew 2-1.
MLS Betting Tips
It always pays to do your own research whenever it comes to placing a bet, but you should also bear these statistics and facts in mind.
During the 2023 MLS season, there were a total of 392 matches played and 1,249 goals were scored. This is an average of 3.19 goals per game, which makes the over 2.5 goals market one to keep tabs on.
Also, MLS teams have a massive advantage when they play on home soil, partly because of the sheer size of the United States. Using the 2018 results as a guide, 14 teams won more than half of their home games, with each team winning at least six fixtures at home; only San Jose Earthquakes (who only won twice at home) failed to achieve this.
On the flipside, only one team, Atlanta United FC, won more than half of their away games with only seven teams winning at least six games on the road.
See below the top sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
MLS Futures
- Inter Miami FC: +249
- Los Angeles FC: +746
- Columbus Crew SC: +873
- FC Cincinnati: +1,200
- Philadelphia Union: +1,381
- New York Red Bulls: +1,514
- Seattle Sounders FC: +1,900
- Orlando City SC: +2,035
- LA Galaxy: +2,317
- Houston Dynamo: +2,394
- New York City FC: +2,706
- Nashville SC: +2,894
- Atlanta United: +3,106
- St. Louis City SC (Cardinals): +3,351
- Sporting Kansas City: +3,351
- Portland Timbers: +4,261