Minnesota United v FC Cincinnati – MLS Betting Preview and Prediction
On June 29th we will get to see Minnesota United host FC Cincinnati in what will be their first match in over a week against the worst team in the league.
Minnesota United looking for a way to improve
Minnesota United enter the upcoming fixture as 7th team in the West with a 6-3-7 record to their name. While their overall record is not anywhere to those of the top teams, Minnesota’s recent form is even worse. The hosts will enter the upcoming match with 3 consecutive league defeats behind them. The 3 teams that defeated Minnesota were Atlanta United (3:0), Philadelphia Union (2:3) and most recently Colorado Rapids (1:0). Seeing how Minnesota lost to Rapids, the last team in the West, it makes us wonder how good they really are, but there are two things to consider. First of all, Colorado Rapids play like a playoff team, at least in their most recent matches.
As a team that was just terrible at the season start, Rapids are now 4-2-0 in the last 6 league matches. The second thing we need to take into account is the fact that Minnesota’s last league match was played on June 9th and ever since then they defeated Sporting Kansas (4:1) and Houston Dynamo (2:3) in the US Open. While I am not impressed by Minnesota performances in the last 3 league matches, they have obviously improved and are well aware they need to start performing up to par if they wish to end up in the playoffs.
FC Cincinnati struggle continues
FC Cincinnati seems to get worse and worse as we get deeper into the MLS Season. Looking back at their last 10 matches in all competitions, Cincinnati has won only two, against Montreal Impact (2:1) in May and against Louisville City in the US Open (2:1) and even that was after extra time. As for the remaining 8 matches, Cincinnati lost them all. Most recently they were defeated by Saint Louis FC (1:0) in US Open followed by a 0:2 defeat in the MLS against LA Galaxy.
This now puts the newcomers in a terrible run of 10 defeats in the last 11 league games and there is seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel for them. The list of things that went wrong for Cincinnati is long and includes injuries and international commitments, which hindered their already slim chances to prove themselves. At the end of the day, it was never easy for a new franchise, with a few exceptions that had the needed backing to make their 1st season successful.
Verdict & Prediction
The home side are hungry for a win, which would hopefully get their wheels spinning in the right direction after a rather disappointing 0-3 run in the last 3 MLS matches. While still in the top 7, Minnesota could lose their playoffs spot anytime, considering they are only 1 point ahead of Real Salt Lake and Vancouver Whitecaps. Hoping they can start off their return to MLS with a win, Minnesota were given a great opportunity to do just that.
Facing off against the worst team in the league at home ground is as good as it can get, and while we did see Cincinnati take Minnesota into overtime at the start of June in US Open, this time it won’t be like that. Minnesota are simply a better side and with two great results in US Open behind them, the home side should have more than enough confidence to keep the momentum going and defeat Cincinnati with style, i.e. by more than one goal.
Prediction: Minnesota United -1.00 Asian Handicap
Odds: 1.90 Sportsmarket
