MLS 2018 Western Conference Finals Betting Tips and Picks

Quick Tips:

• Bet Sporting KC to advance at -162 with 888Sport.
• Bet Sporting KC to win MLS Cup at +275 with 888Sport.

The 2018 MLS Western Conference Finals will showcase two teams that are fighting to put more hardware in their showcases. The Portland Timbers earned their first MLS Cup just three seasons ago, while Sporting KC will be in search of their third MLS Cup and first since 2013.

• In case you haven’t followed MLS for long, Sporting KC won their first MLS Cup in 2000 as the Kansas City Wizards. The founding MLS member was apart of the inaugural 1996 MLS season, and is making their 17th playoff appearance this season.
• The Portland Timbers hope to bring their Army a second title, first under new head coach Giovanni Savarese. The first title for Portland came in 2015 under former head coach Caleb Porter.

MLS Betting looks to be ripe for the Western Conference Finals as the season reaches its peak

Timbers Army Marches Toward Its Second

The departure of Head Coach Caleb Porter came as a surprise to the Timber Army faithful, but luckily, they found a replacement named Giovanni Savarese. Coach Gio earned his stripes as a player with the NY/NJ Metro Stars in the inaugural 1996 MLS campaign, and his head coaching experience in the NASL speaks for itself. From 2013 - 2017, the NY Cosmos appeared in 4 NASL Cup Final matches, winning three titles in 2013, ‘15 & ‘16.

Being green just seems to suit him just fine, and keep in mind he inherited a team that was knocked out in the 2017 Western Conference Semifinal by Houston 2 - 1 on aggregate. A scoreless opening leg of the tie led Houston to a 2 - 1 win that pushed the Dynamo through to face Seattle (Seattle went on to lose last year’s MLS Cup to Toronto, 2 – 0).

This time around, Portland had to get past rivals Seattle in the conference semis. After a 2 - 1 home win in front of the Timber’s Army, the second leg gave audiences an epic show that came down to penalty kicks to push the Timbers though to the conference finals. Another excellent ‘Cascadia Classic’ in Seattle in leg two, a 2 - 1 regulation game saw Seattle score in stoppage to tie on aggregate. Both teams scored in extra time to send the game to penalties where Portland buried four of their chances to the Sounder’s two.

Sporting KC Looks To Channel Wizard Magic

After failing to make the playoffs in 2009 and 2010, the Wizards became Sporting KC and have made the playoffs in each of the last 8 seasons. Sporting KC won the organization’s second MLS Cup in 2013, but early knockout round exits the last four seasons now has them one step away from a chance to win a third league title since 2000.

Sporting KC does have some major hardware in their showcase outside of their MLS achievements. Sporting have won 3 of the last 7 and two of the last 4 Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cups.

Should Sporting move on to the MLS Cup final game, they will be on the road regardless of who wins the battle between Atlanta and the New York Red Bulls. Sporting won the Western Conference regular season title, but only accumulated 62 points, to the Red Bulls 71 and Atlanta’s 69 points earned in the Eastern Conference.

After a rough July that had Sporting KC muddling in the middle of the standings, the team has now only lost two of their last 17 games since the beginning of December. However, a 5-3 aggregate thrashing of Real Salt Lake put a lot of debate to rest of Sporting KC was truly a title contender this season.

MLS Western Conference Finals Pick & Prediction

Sporting KC has taken the last two season-series matchups against the Timbers, outscoring Portland 5 - 1 over their last four MLS meetings, including two shutouts this year (0-0 ; 3 - 0). Nothing should change here as SKC should roll through to the MLS Cup. Bet them at -162 to advance.

I have already put myself out there as saying I expect Sporting to win their third MLS Cup title in 2018. I am not shying away from that now, and if you took my advice early enough, you might have +900 on Sporting sitting in your pending bets.

Sporting KC is listed at +275 to win the MLS Cup at 888Sport. That is where your money will be made after Sporting earns a trip to the MLS Cup finals on December 8.

Western Conference Finals Schedule 2018

• November 25: Sporting KC @ Portland Timbers
• November 29: Portland Timbers @ Sporting KC