Major League Soccer's Memorial Day weekend slate of games features a must-see matchup between teams that were on opposite ends of the table in 2023.
The Saturday evening soccer football action opens with a showdown between last season's winner of the Supporters' Shield (presented to team with the most points) — FC Cincinnati — and the recipient of 2023 Wooden Spoon (symbolic award for the team with the fewest points) — Toronto FC. Things have changed in a few short months (not so much for FC Cincinnati, though, they're still good). Toronto FC is one of the season's biggest surprises, and are currently in playoff contention in the Eastern Conference. TFC has won its last two games by a combined score of 13-2 (5-1 against CF Montréal last weekend and 8-1 against CS Saint-Laurent in Canadian Championship play ... to be fair, CS Saint-Laurent is a semi-pro outfit, but still, eight goals is a lot!).
A busy late four-game late window that could provide some #MLSAfterDark mayhem will not feature Lionel Messi (nor Luis Suárez and Sergio Busquets) when Inter Miami visits the Vancouver Whitecaps.
(All games available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.)
Saturday
While FC Cincinnati was cruising toward the 2023 Supporters' Shield, Toronto FC were a real mess. TFC, which just six years earlier won a treble — MLS Cup, Supporters' Shield and Canadian Championship — had plummeted to the bottom of the standings, earning the dreaded Wooden Spoon. Coach Bob Bradley was sacked and a few months later John Herdman — who coached Canada to its first men's World Cup in 36 years — was brought in as a replacement.
Toronto FC's expensive Italian import Federico Bernardeschi has been on a real run of late, scoring all six of his league goals during the month of May.
For FC Cincinnati, 2023 league MVP Luciano Acosta remains the team's primary offensive threat. He's scored seven goals and is second only to Messi for the league league in assists.
Here are the odds for this weekend 's MLS games, according to BetMGM:
Atlanta United vs. Los Angeles FC
Charlotte FC vs. Philadelphia Union
D.C. United vs. Chicago Fire FC
CF Montréal vs. Nashville SC
New England Revolution vs. New York City FC
Orlando City SC vs. Columbus Crew
Toronto FC vs. FC Cincinnati
FC Dallas vs. Real Salt Lake
St. Louis City SC vs. Seattle Sounders FC
Colorado Rapids vs. Minnesota United FC
LA Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo FC
Portland Timbers vs. Sporting Kansas City
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Austin FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Inter Miami CF
According to BetMGM, Inter Miami CF (+188) is the current favorite to win the 2024 league championship, followed by Los Angeles FC (+650), FC Cincinnati (+900), LA Galaxy (+1400), Real Salt Lake (+1400), Columbus Crew (+1600), New York Red Bulls (+1600), Minnesota United FC (+2000) and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (+2000).
All Major League Soccer games air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Some select games are available for free on Apple TV and viewers only need an Apple ID to watch.
FOX Sports will air select games on linear television.
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