The opening weekend of Major League Soccer is upon us, and plenty of teams are eyeing a shot at taking the MLS Cup away from Inter Miami.
We break down which teams will get off to a winning start in our free betting picks for the opening weekend of the MLS slate.
MLS moneyline picks for Opening Weekend
| Game | Pick |
|---|---|
 St. Louis CITY SC vs  Charlotte FC |
Charlotte +165 |
 FC Cincinnati vs  Atlanta United FC |
Atlanta -113 |
 Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs  Real Salt Lake |
Vancouver -154 |
 Orlando City SC vs  New York Red Bulls |
Orlando City -108 |
 D.C. United vs  Philadelphia Union |
Philadelphia +115 |
 Nashville SC vs  New England Revolution |
Nashville -147 |
 Houston Dynamo vs  Chicago Fire |
Chicago +250 |
 FC Dallas vs  Toronto FC |
FC Dallas +115 |
 Austin FC vs  Minnesota United FC |
Minnesota +230 |
 Los Angeles FC vs  Inter Miami FC |
LAFC +110 |
 San Jose Earthquakes vs  Sporting Kansas City |
San Jose -122 |
 San Diego vs  CF Montreal |
San Diego -217 |
 Portland Timbers vs  Columbus Crew SC |
Portland +185 |
 LA Galaxy vs  New York City FC |
LA Galaxy +110 |
 Seattle Sounders FC vs  Colorado Rapids |
Seattle -212 |
Odds courtesy of Sports Interaction.
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St. Louis CITY SC (+145) vs Charlotte FC (+227)
Pick: Charlotte FC moneyline (+165)
St. Louis is coming off a poor season and must find goals after the departure of leading scorer Joao Klauss.
Charlotte can’t relate, not with an attack spearheaded by the trio of Wilfried Zaha, Idan Toklomati, and Pep Biel.
That will be enough to secure a road victory.
FC Cincinnati (-109) vs Atlanta United FC (+299)
Pick: Atlanta United moneyline (-113)
Atlanta United has reason to be excited with the offseason acquisitions they’ve made, and if this match were in the Dirty South, I’d probably take the Five Stripes to win.
But FC Cincinnati is too good at home, and Atlanta has to prove they can get a result on the road under Tata Martino before I back them to do so.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-155) vs Real Salt Lake (+455)
Pick: Vancouver moneyline (-154)
Thomas Müller and company have unfinished business and are one of the favorites to win the MLS Cup this season.
Diego Luna will do what he can for the visitors, but the talent gap here is far too large to overcome.
Orlando City SC (-106) vs New York Red Bulls (+300)
Pick: Orlando City moneyline (-108)
Michael Bradley takes over as manager of a New York side that lost 11 of their 17 away matches last season.
Orlando City is so hard to get a result against at home, and the Red Bulls looked poor in the preseason.
I’ll back the home team at this price.
D.C. United (+275) vs Philadelphia Union (+125)
Pick: Philadelphia moneyline (+115)
Philadelphia is another top pick to win the league this season, behind a stout defense that led them to a Supporters Shield a season ago.
DC United has added a lot of new pieces — including Philadelphia’s top scorer, Tai Baribo — but they’ll need time to gel.
Philly’s not the team to need to be doing that against.
Nashville SC (-131) vs New England Revolution (+395)
Pick: Nashville moneyline (-147)
Nashville still has Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge leading their attack, and that’s enough to beat most teams in MLS.
And while Garles Gil and Leonardo Campana give the Revs an attacking threat, the club made little improvement to a team that was quite poor a season ago.
Houston Dynamo (+156) vs Chicago Fire (+195)
Pick: Draw (+250)
The Chicago Fire play on the front foot and will be going for a result from the opening whistle.
Meanwhile, the Dynamo are opening at home for the 13th time in 14 seasons and have lost only one of those games.
Both teams have weaknesses in defense, and we should see goals with both teams sharing the spoils.
FC Dallas (+130) vs Toronto FC (+238)
Pick: FC Dallas moneyline (+115)
Dallas forward Petar Musa and the defense have improved with the addition of Malachi Molina.
Toronto struggled to find goals last season and made a big splash this week to add Josh Sargent.
However, Sargete won’t start on Saturday, and their scoring woes will continue.
Austin FC (+136) vs Minnesota United FC (+221)
Pick: Draw (+230)
The addition of James Rodriguez is massive for Minnesota, but he won’t be playing this weekend.
Austin has added some quality depth to a team that struggled to score last season, but can they score enough goals to keep up with the visiting attack?
I think this will be an entertaining stalemate.
Los Angeles FC (+116) vs Inter Miami FC (+245)
Pick: LAFC moneyline (+110)
Without question, the marquee matchup of the weekend takes place in LA on Saturday night.
Lionel Messi is questionable for the match, but I’m not sure it matters.
LAFC looked frighteningly good in the Champions Cup midweek, and Miami’s defense will struggle to contain Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min on the counter.
San Jose Earthquakes (-111) vs Sporting Kansas City (+288)
Pick: San Jose moneyline (-122)
I said Montreal “may" be the worst team because Sporting Kansas City is going to give them a run for their money.
Sporting were abysmal on the road last season, conceding goals often.
Timo Werner is going to cause problems for them all day long.
San Diego (-214) vs CF Montreal (+563)
Pick: San Diego moneyline (-217)
Montreal may be the worst team in the league. They’re definitely the least-talented roster in MLS, and scored just 34 goals last season while conceding 60.
Anders Dreyer and company should win this one with ease.
Portland Timbers (+197) vs Columbus Crew SC (+140)
Pick: Portland moneyline (+185)
Columbus is favored in this one, and it makes sense when you look at the squads.
However, Portland has never lost in six home meetings against the Crew, and a season opener at Providence Park is always a difficult occasion for visitors.
The Timbers offer great value at this price.
LA Galaxy (+149) vs New York City FC (+173)
Pick: LA Galaxy moneyline (+110)
The Galaxy has an improved squad, and looked very good in preseason and their midweek match in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
NYCFC looked rough in their exhibition outings, and a cross-country trip to face a much more talented side won’t bear much fruit.
Seattle Sounders (-207) vs Colorado Rapids (+543)
Pick: Seattle moneyline (-212)
The Sounders lost at home just one time in 2025, and new signings Hassani Dotson and Nikola Petkovic have hit the ground running in preseason.
Colorado is in the midst of a midfield rebuild, and the Sounders should be able to control this match from start to finish.
