MLS Picks Today: Get our predictions for 06/04/2023

The 2023 MLS season is finally here and today, we will review the top MLS free picks, predictions, and the best odds from the best online sportsbooks. We work our hardest to provide you with proper in-depth analysis, which includes the true starting lineup that goes game by game, and the starting goalkeepers for each side. This way, when you select your online sports betting platform to bet on the upcoming regular season of Major League Soccer, along with the MLS playoffs, you will find yourself more often on the winning side, rather than the losing side with your well thought out and analyzed soccer predictions.

Top MLS Picks and Free Wagering Tips

Below, you can check out our list of top MLS free picks and tips, and you can also find the best odds and where to place the bet if you like it. All odds listed above are subject to change, so make sure that you double-check them before you place the actual wager. Now, let's elaborate on the current MLS predictions we recommended above. You can watch all the MLS action via the MLS Season Pass, which is available through AppleTV+.

Pick 1: St. Louis City vs LA Galaxy – BTTS – No @ -112

St. Louis City and LA Galaxy will close this Major League Soccer gameweek with a vicious clash at CITYPARK on the 11th of June. With the home-field support behind them, coach Bradley Carnell’s boys have the three points up for grabs. Far more sturdier sides fell victim at CITYPARK. Surely, coach Greg Vanney’s team will as well. After all, LA Galaxy are at the very bottom of the Western Conference with barely 13 goals scored throughout 15 fixtures. It will take quite an impressive push from Vanney’s boys for LA Galaxy to even find St. Louis City’s net on Sunday, let alone win this match.

Pick 2: San Jose Earthquakes vs Philadelphia Union – Philadelphia Union to Win @ +215

For some reason, the bookies favor the Quakes for the game on the 11th of June. It has to be the fact that Philly will have quite the travel ahead of them this week as it’s San Jose Earthquakes who host this cross-conference duel. If anyone has a shot at the three points, however, it’s Philadelphia Union. Coach Jim Curtin’s boys are likelier to win as they already proved their worth in the 2022 MLS race when they reached the MLS Cup final where they, sadly, were pipped by a superior Los Angeles squad. San Jose Earthquakes are no Los Angeles so Curtin’s boys have the three points ripe for the plucking on Sunday.

Pick 3: Houston Dynamo vs Los Angeles – Denis Bouanga to Score Anytime @ +166

Ever-present Bouanga has been sensational throughout the 2022 Major League Soccer campaign. He slid it past the goalkeepers on 10 occasions in only 12 MLS games while also scoring a couple of times in the CONCACAF Champions League. His most recent stunner was a 96th-minute goal at Estadio Leon versus Nicholas Larcamon’s Leon in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League. Seeing as Houston Dynamo’s backline proved inconsistent against the top dogs, we believe it’s Denis Bouanga who’ll not only be the player to watch on Sunday but also the likeliest scorer against coach Olsen’s side.

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MLS Picks Today: Get our predictions for [auto_last_update format="m/d/Y" before=""]

MVP Award Winner

The Landon Donovan MVP Award is an annual award given to the most valuable player during the league season. The award received its latest name in 2015 in honor of Landon Donovan. Last season, Hany Mukhtar won the 2022 award alongside the Golden Boot award. We will see if this year any of the contenders are winners from previous years or not.

The 2023 MLS season will be even more action-packed and if the managers want to congratulate themselves on a job well done at the end of the season, they will want their key players to be at their lethal best. Early predictions from the top MLS bookmakers suggest that these five are the top candidates to scoop the award this season:

  1. Hany Mukhtar @ +550
  2. Luciano Acosta @ +580
  3. Brandon Vazquez @ +580
  4. Sebastian Driussi @ +600
  5. Carles Gil @ +750

Nashville SC, FC Cincinnati, Austin FC, and New England Revolution are lucky to have such tremendous players within their ranks. We’re confident they’ll certainly be up there for the MVP award at the end of the season. They won’t get a moment to rest as the likes of LA Galaxy’s Javier Hernandez, Philadelphia Union’s Daniel Gazdag, and Los Angeles FC’s Carlos Vela are lurking in the shadows ready to poach the award away from the frontrunners.

Once the MLS season comes to a close, players may find themselves on the golf course, which could potentially be South Course, or any of their other favorites across the US. During that downtime, all the teams will conduct and conclude their competitive balance tax and determined what types of players they are missing from their squad, they could go into the MLS Superdraft with confidence, knowing exactly what players they should be on the lookout for.

Top Goalscorer

The top goalscorer is the statistic that decides who gets the MLS Golden Boot award. The 2022 winner was Hany Mukhtar from Nashville SC. He had 23 goals out of 33 games. This year, the top contenders before the beginning of the MLS season are Jesus Ferreira, Josef Martinez, Javier Hernandez, and Karol Swiderski. We will see if the pre-season predictions are correct at the end of the season.

With so many amazing goalscorers in MLS, it’s difficult to make a prediction about who’ll put his hands on the MLS Golden Boot award at the end of the season. Before the start of the season, these are the bookies’ favorites to win the prestigious award:

  1. Georgios Giakoumakis @ +700
  2. Hany Mukhtar @ +1,000
  3. Javier Hernandez @ +1,200
  4. Sebastian Driussi @ +1,200
  5. Josef Martinez @ +1,200

These are the top MLS Golden Boot award winner contenders but who knows, perhaps underdogs such as former Napoli superstar Lorenzo Insigne @ +2,100 or Juan Camilo Hernandez @ +1,600 might give us the surprise we were hoping for? Only time will tell!

MLS Cup Winner

The MLS Cup winner is the most popular outright market and according to the bookmakers Los Angeles FC, Philadelphia Union, New York City FC, and LA Galaxy are the teams with the biggest chances of winning this season. In the last two years, Los Angeles FC (2022) and New York City FC (2021) won the MLS Cup.

Seeing as Los Angeles FC won the MLS Cup last year, it’s completely logical for the bookies to peg them as favorites this year as well. However, coach Steven Cherundolo mustn’t let the bookies’ kind predictions distract him as there’s serious competition this year:

  1. Los Angeles FC @ +450
  2. Philadelphia Union @ +600
  3. New York City FC @ +1,000
  4. Los Angeles Galaxy @ +1,300
  5. Austin FC @ +1,400

These are the teams in pole position to grab the MLS Cup trophy at the end of the season. We’ll be watching carefully how newly-established St. Louis City will perform this year. They are understandably the underdog in the race @ +9,900 but if history of soccer has thought us anything, it’s to never rule out the underdog.

MLS Eastern/Western Conference Winners

The Eastern and Western Conferences are the two conferences of the MLS. Each of them has its own rankings. The top teams of each conference play in a postseason knockout tournament to determine who will win the MLS Cup. Bookies believe that Los Angeles FC and Philadelphia Union have a very high chance of winning the conferences in 2023.

Eastern Conference Winner

As we previously said, Philadelphia Union are the bookies’ favorites to win the Eastern Conference this year. It’s understandable considering the team won the MLS Eastern Conference season last year, with quite a style leaving Montreal in 2nd place trailing by two points. Expectations for the New York Red Bulls remains equal to last season. They finished in 4th back in 2022 and are likely to retain the crown of being the second best New York based team out of 2. Here’s how the teams in the Eastern Conference rank before the start of the season:

  1. Philadelphia Union @ +300
  2. New York City FC @ +500
  3. Nashville @ +700
  4. New York Red Bulls @ +800
  5. CF Montreal @ +1,000

These five clubs are performing at a very high level this season and it would be very difficult to knock them out of the race but we’ll just wait and see if an underdog will join the race. Inter Miami certainly have high ambitions as they are linked with a possible transfer of international soccer legend Lionel Messi. This would make a lot of Inter Miami fans happy, especially watching Deandre Yedlin play alongside soccer God, Lionel Messi. Messi joining the club might throw the bookies’ predictions out the window.

Western Conference Winner

Is it really a surprise that coach Steven Cherundolo’s boys are in pole position to win the Western Conference this year? Not only did they win it in the 2022 campaign with a 12-point advantage over Austin FC, but Los Angeles FC went all the way to grab the MLS Cup trophy at the end. The 2023 Western Conference race is certainly not going to be an easy job for Carlos Vela and his teammates of Los Angeles FC as there are some other top teams such as:

  1. Los Angeles FC @ +160
  2. Los Angeles Galaxy @ +500
  3. Seattle Sounders @ +500
  4. Austin FC @ +700
  5. FC Dallas @ +1,200

Understandably, St. Louis City SC are huge underdogs as this will be their debut season but who knows? The 2023 Western Conference winner might be a team no one expects.

Other Regular MLS Betting Markets Available

Soccer betting is the most extensive when it comes to the available markets no matter where you are in the world. You can either choose to bet before the start of a game (pre-game) or after it (in-play. Of course, the market selection of pre-game events will be a lot larger than the in-play betting markets available.

These are the most popular betting markets you can find on any sportsbook:

  • First/Last Goalscorer – You are betting on the player that will score the first/last goal.
  • Anytime Goalscorer – You are betting on a player that will score anytime during the match.
  • Double Chance – You are betting on two of the three options in a regular three-way wager.
  • Draw No Bet – You are betting on which team will win the match (the tie option is excluded).
  • Correct Score – You are betting on what the final result of the match will be.
  • 1st Half Winner – You are betting on who will win the first half or if it will be a tie.
  • Both Teams to Score – You are betting if both clubs will score during the match.
  • Total Goals – You are betting on if the total goals scored by both clubs will be over or under the listed number.
  • Moneyline – You are betting on which team will win the match, or if it will end in a tie.
  • Over/Under – You are betting on the total amount of goals that will be scored in the game.

Top Bookmakers to Place MLS Bets With

DraftKings

DraftKings is one of the top bookies in the US and they are available in many US states, either via online, mobile, or retail Sportsbooks. Their platform is easy to navigate and they have plenty of useful betting features to offer customers. Their welcome offer is a deposit bonus of up to $1,000 and DK provides many bonuses for existing customers, as well.

BetRivers

BetRivers provides one of the most popular online wagering platforms and has a modern design. You can find what you are looking for in seconds and they have an amazing new customer bonus – of up to $250 with a Betrivers bonus code. They also offer many promos for their regular customers and provide a number of special features.

Caesars

Caesars Sportsbook is quickly becoming one of the top names in sports betting in the US, although they are a UK-born bookie. They are offering an exclusive welcome bonus of up to $1,250 on Caesars + 1000 Tier Credits. Their odds are competitive, especially for top league events and they provide straightforward access on their platform.

Popular Questions Regarding the Top MLS Picks

MLS Picks Today: Get our predictions for [auto_last_update format="m/d/Y" before=""]
Jul 4, 2019; Frisco, TX, USA; A view of the game ball and MLS logo before the game between FC Dallas and the D.C. United at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

When will the MLS future markets close?

Each bookmaker sets a date for when each future betting market will close, so you will have to check with the bookie to see the date. For example, on the DraftKings platform, you can see the date and time the market will close next to the name of the selection/event.

Is betting on the MLS legal in the USA?

Yes, it is. Many states already legalized sports betting and some are on their way. After you check to see if sports betting is legal in your state, you should focus on finding a licensed sportsbook, as well. Even if betting is legal in a state, only wagering on licensed sportsbooks is allowed.

Is it free to register an online bookmaker account?

Yes, it is. You don't even have to pay to download the app or verify your account. All the betting features available are also free to use for verified customers.

Do I have to verify my identity and address to place wagers?

Yes, you do. Some bookies require you to verify your payment method, as well.

How can I watch MLS games?

After entering a 10-year streaming partnership with Apple, MLS will now be broadcasted exclusively on Apple TV+’s new MLS Season Pass app.