Nearly half the Major League Soccer season is over, and the league is taking shape as the summer heat prepares to descend on North America. While each team will play 34 regular season MLS games, the 12 best from each conference will battle it out for the MLS Cup once the postseason begins in October.
The Pacesetters
Thus far in 2017, Toronto FC has set the pace for all teams in the regular season. The Reds from the Great White North have secured 29 points from 42 possible, the most of any team. Toronto is unbeaten in its last eight matches – at the time of writing – and have shown an ability to win without its biggest star Sebastian Giovinco in the starting XI. The club is currently the favorite to lift the MLS Cup at the end of the postseason at 6/1; but the MLS Playoffs are a different animal and are always wide open.
The Outsiders
Chicago Fire has completely turned around its fortunes this term. The Fire is the second in the league with 24 points, and since signing Nemanja Nikolic and Bastian Schweinsteiger, the team has really taken off. Nikolic currently leads MLS in scoring with 11 goals, and his scoring ability in front of goal has the Fire at 10/1 odds to win the MLS Cup. Chicago has finished dead last in MLS the last two seasons, and this year’s turnaround has many excited to see the Fire return to the form it showed nearly 10 seasons ago.
The Reigning Champions
Reigning MLS Cup champions Seattle Sounders are currently listed at 16/1 odds to regain the title. The team was woeful for much of the season a year ago, and only caught fire after sacking manager Sigi Schmid. The second half of last season saw the Sounders play the best soccer in MLS, and the team stormed through the playoffs. Seattle has be very inconsistent to this point in 2017. The team is scoring a mere 1.1 goals per match, and is gaining just over one point per game. If Seattle is to repeat as the MLS Cup champions, it will need to replicate the same form the team showed a year ago.
Wait Until Next Year
Colorado, Real Salt Lake, DC United, Montreal and Minnesota United will spend the rest of the season taking points off of their opponents, but most likely won’t make the playoffs. Colorado is experiencing a complete turnaround from last season. The team was one of the best in MLS, yet the Rapids are now the worst. The team is still only seven points off of a playoff spot, and it currently rest at 66/1 odds to win the cup final.
DC United just continues to tread water despite making the playoffs three years running. The team’s play under Ben Olsen isn’t great, it never has been, but the club continue to stick with him thanks to DC United’s ability to simply make the playoffs. Despite looking unlikely of making the MLS Cup final, DC United is at 50/1 odds.
The MLS Cup Playoffs won’t begin until October, but the MLS regular season is in full flow. A lot is still to come, and the best is yet to happen in MLS this season.
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