CF Montreal vs Philadelphia Union Betting Odds and Prediction March 5
CF Montreal vs Philadelphia Union Betting Preview
WagerTalk soccer handicapper Nick Borrman offers his CF Montreal vs Philadelphia Union betting preview for Saturday, March 5. With a CONCACAF Champions League match against Cruz Azul on deck, how much focus and energy will Montreal put into this weekend’s MLS contest?
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| Saturday, March 5 | MLS Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| CF Montreal: | +145 |
| Philadelphia Union: | +200 |
| Draw: | +230 |
| Total: | 2.5 Goals (Odds Above Courtesy of DraftKings) |
| Game Time: | 4:00pm ET / 1:00pm PT |
CF Montreal vs Philadelphia Union Analysis
A great angle to play over the years in early season MLS is to fade teams that are competing in the CONCACAF Champions League, as Montreal is this year. You’ve got two competitions going on simultaneously at the beginning of the season when teams are far from game conditioned.
While Montreal did not compete this past week, they are definitely in a look-ahead spot here with a huge game against Mexican side Cruz Azul coming up on Tuesday.
Montreal also looked pretty pedestrian in their first game of the season at Orlando last weekend. They failed to score losing 0-2 while xG showed a tally of Orlando 1.69 – 0.53 Montreal.
I worry about Montreal’s offense this season as last year they generated the fifth-fewest shots per game and the fourth-fewest shots on goal, averaging 11.5 and 3.9, respectively.
Philadelphia a Favorite in the East
Last week I previewed a few of the favorites in each conference and touched on the Philadelphia Union at +1600, who were agonizingly close last year, falling in the semifinals to the eventual champions NYCFC.
The Union ranked No. 7 in the league with a +0.25 xG differential and were very solid defensively with only four teams allowing fewer shots on goal than their 3.8 per game. They simply lacked the firepower to truly compete.
But Philly addressed that by adding Mikael Uhre this season from Brondy in Denmark who scored 24 goals and added eight assists over his last 38 games for the Danish side, winning the Golden Boot. Uhre was good enough to be called up to the Denmark national team last November and could make his Union debut here against Montreal having now been in Philadelphia for over a week, training and practicing with the team.
CF Montreal vs Philadelphia Union Prediction
Philadelphia was unable to take care of business in their season opener at home against Minnesota last week, but I like them to be able to earn at least a draw here in this game. Philly conceded the fourth-fewest goals in all of the MLS last year (35, three teams were tied at 33), and they didn’t lose very often on the road either, with just five losses in 17 away matches.
Finally, the Union have had Montreal’s number of late as they have won or drawn all four meetings over the last two seasons. There is nothing I like more than taking the team with the better defense getting a head start as the Union are here.
I recommend a wager on Philadelphia +0.25 on the Asian handicap at -120 odds. Half of our wager goes on Philadelphia +0.5 and half goes on “draw no bet.” If the Union win the match, we win our full stake. If the match ends in a draw, we win half of our stake. The only way we lose money is if Montreal wins the match.
Interested in placing a bet on Saturday’s CF Montreal vs Philadelphia Union contest? Caesars Sports is offering up to a $1,500 match bet for first-time deposits in New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, New York and Louisiana.
Stoppage Time | European Soccer Predictions
Join Carmine Bianco, Kevin Dolan, Pavlos Laguretos, and Nick Borrman every Tuesday at 10am ET / 7am PT for Stoppage Time as we break down the biggest matches in Europe. On this week’s episode, we head to England to discuss this weekend’s featured Premier League matches, including Liverpool vs West Ham; Manchester City vs Manchester United; and Tottenham vs Everton.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features odds from a variety of domestic and offshore sports books. Track the moneylines and totals for this weekend’s MLS matches, including this CF Montreal vs Philadelphia Union showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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