New York City FC and the Portland Timbers will face off for the right to raise the MLS Cup this Saturday.
Portland will be hosting the game, which kicks off at 3 p.m. on ABC, as it had the better regular-season record with 55 points (17-13-4), compared to NYCFC’s 51 points (14-11-9).
Both teams entered the playoffs as the four-seed in their respective conferences. Each defeated the top team in their conference on the way to the MLS Cup, with the Timbers putting up a clean sheet on the Colorado Rapids 2-0, while NYCFC needed to go to penalties to get past the New England Revolution 2-2 (5-3 PK).
NYCFC earned their way into MLS Cup 2021 with a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union, who dealt with an 11-player COVID outbreak, while Portland shut out Real Salt Lake 2-0 to earn the right to host the MLS Cup final.
MLS Cup Odds At NJ Sportsbooks
To win the MLS Cup, NYCFC will need a goal or two from this year’s Golden Boot winner for top scorer, Valentin Castellanos. This, along with help from midfielder Maxi Moralez and goalkeeper Sean Johnson to combat Portland’s attack, which features forwards Felipe Mora and Dairon Asprilla.
Oddsmakers for New Jersey sportsbooks are leaning towards NYCFC being the slight favorite, as there is not much difference in the full-time odds. The two teams did play earlier this season, on Aug. 1, which the Timbers won 3-1.
DraftKings Sportsbook has the Timbers at +180 and NYCFC +165, with the odds for a draw at +230. Over at FanDuel, Portland is at +160, while NYCFC is at +155 and the odds for a draw are +210.
Like DraftKings, Caesars has Portland at +180, but NYCFC at +160, and +225 for a full-time draw. These are the odds that BetMGM has both teams listed at for Saturday’s final, save for the +220 odds that it is giving for a full-time draw.
SugarHouse has the odds for Portland securing the full-time win at +170, while giving NYCFC +165, with a full-time draw getting +230 odds. PointsBet has the Timbers at +175, NYCFC at +160, and +225 for a draw.
The closest odds between the two teams come from Unibet, which has NYCFC at +163, with Portland at +165, with the odds for a full-time draw at +225.
For bettors who like over-unders, the general consensus line is 2.5. Also, sites are offering all different types of player and game prop bets like first to score, anytime goalscorer, correct score, and more.
(AP Photo/John Raoux)