New England Revolution vs. Toronto FC Prediction, Preview and Odds - 7/7/21
New England is atop the Eastern Conference and host a Toronto team in the basement of the conference and was embarrassed in their last match.
Toronto FC is in a tailspin, and they have lost six straight matches and in their last match they were throttled losing 7-1. The next day first-year head coach Chris Armas was fired, and the club has the fewest points in the MLS and through 11 matches they have a grand total of one win.
New England is atop the East even though they are not in top form as of late playing to a draw in their last match and losing their previous one. The club is three points clear of Orlando in the conference and while the defense for the Revolution has had its issues, they have scored the third most goals in MLS (20).
A Match to Forget
Toronto FC was on the road in their last match losing to DC United 7-1. The team gave up two goals in the first two minutes and to throw fuel in the fire they had an own-goal and defender Eriq Zavaleta was sent off in the 87th minute with a red card. Ayo Akinola scored the lone goal in the bad loss where the time of possession was, surprisingly, pretty even, but DC outshot Toronto 21-6 and had nine shots on goal while FC only had three.
Toronto has given up at least two goals in five straight matches they have given up 27 goals in the season, which is the most in MLS by five goals. The team has scored 13 goals in 11 matches and Akino and Jonathan Osorio lead the club with three apiece. It does not help that the club has several players out with injury, MF Alejandro Pozuelo is listed as questionable with an injury, and Zavaleta is out after s red card in the last match.
Can’t Hold on After Good Start
In their last match DC United was on the road and played to a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew after they were up 2-0 after 30th minute. Tajon Buchanan and Gustavo Bou tickled the twine in the draw and one of Columbus’ goal was an own goal. DC was dominated in time of possession (68% to 32%) and were outshot overall 18-7 and 7-4 on shots on target. The issue for United this season has been their defense and they have conceded two goals in each of their last four matches.
Gustavo Bou leads DC United with six goals and Adam Buksa and Tajon Buchanan have combined for seven goals. Carles Gil leads the MLS with seven assists. Buchanan has two goals in his last three matches and two assists in his last four matches. New England has a relatively healthy squad for this Eastern Conference encounter where they are major betting favorites with good reason.
Pick: DC United -200
The Revolution have not been in great form winless in their last two matches, but they are at home in this one and host a Toronto team that was crushed in their last match. FC has given up the most goals in the MLS, by a wide margin, and they gave up seven in their last match. That is not good facing a DC United team that has scored the third most goals in the league. I look for Toronto to play better than they did in their last match, hard not to, but their defense will do them in again. DC United will snap their two-match winless streak and get the home win in this one against hapless Toronto FC.
Total:Over 3 goals
The typical O/U for soccer is 2.5 goals but Toronto is not the typical club and the total is 3 for this match. Toronto was blitzed in their last match giving up seven goals and in 11 matches they have given up 27 goals. On the other side of the coin DC United ranks third in the MLS with 20 goals through 12 matches. The defense has been the main issue for United this season and I do not see them keeping a clean sheet in this one. However, their offense will score multiple goals against a porous Toronto back line, which is why the Over is the pick in this Eastern Conference affair.
