Week 19 MLS Picks
Similar to Austin FC’s win against the Seattle Sounders, our Week 16 success appears like it may have been more fool’s gold than anything. We’ve felt the ups and downs of the season in a big way through the first half of the year and we'll keep working towards more ups than downs the rest of the way.
The official league injury report for Saturday’s games came out Friday afternoon, let’s dive into the Week 19 picks.
Pick’Em Entry of the week
Unfortunately, Underdog Fantasy decided to pull MLS props from their pick’em board once again this week, potentially due in part to the company being sold for a reported $1.3 billion this week. We hope to return with an entry next week and are mulling options for other pick’em solutions for the rest of the season.
Results
Last Week: -1.0 U
Season: +0.13 U
Week 19 Picks
Nashville SC
ML +135
Nashville let us down last weekend after we backed them to win on the road against a shorthanded Orlando City SC. We’re going right back to the current Supporter’s Shield leaders on Saturday, once again on the road to face DC United. They’ll still be without Cristian Espinoza, but new acquisition Elias Saad has received his visa and is available for selection. While DC has been more than fine this season, currently sitting in a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, Nashville is just the flat out more talented side. The loss at Orlando was just Nashville’s second of the season and we’re going to back them to get back to winning ways on the road, where they’ve allowed just three total goals in eight matches.
LAFC
ML +240
This is likely the game of the week in MLS, with LAFC headed north of the border to take on Vancouver Whitecaps. These two teams are tied atop the Western Conference table on 33 points, though the Whitecaps have two games in hand, this is a must watch for MLS fans on Saturday. We’re going to back LAFC to steal all three points in this one for two main reasons, form and value. The Black and Gold have come out of the World Cup break on fire, winning all three league matches by an aggregate score of 10-1. Vancouver on the other hand have a 4-3 loss to FC Cincinnati and a 0-0 draw against Minnesota United. Have LAFC played the best the league has to offer? No. But with Son heating up (three goals in those games, plus a brace at Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game) and Bouanga still rolling (four goals and an assist in those three games), it feels like it’s appropriate to attack the value here and take LAFC at +225, which is likely to be the longest odds for them to win at relative full strength the rest of the season.
Houston Dynamo
ML +125
We hate to do it! But the Orange team is on the road against lowly Sporting KC on Saturday night and they’re just flat out a more talented team. While SKC has shown more signs of life both entering and exiting the World Cup break than they did the first few months of the season, they’re also still the worst home team in the Western Conference, earning just eight points from eight home matches. Houston to win at plus money.
CIN/SJ O 2.5 + MIN/SD U 3.5
Parlay +107
We’re big fans of this totals parlay. Beginning in Cincy where the Knifey Lions are hosting San Jose. This total is set at 3.5 in most places and for good reason. Cincinnati matches have been explosive all year, with 83 total goals scored in their 17 games. The Quakes haven’t quite matched the insane totals from the previous few seasons, but they’re still scoring more than two goals per game. Matches at TQL Stadium this season have averaged 5.13 total goals, so we’re going to nudge this total down to 2.5.
Same-same-but-different in the second leg. The Loons host San Diego FC in a matchup of two teams that have had some trouble finding the back of the net (at least when they aren’t playing against Austin FC). Minnesota matches have averaged 2.52 goals per game this season and that number drops to a miniscule 1.38 goals per game in their eight home games. While San Diego matches have posted 3.48 goals per game, they also have notable home/road splits, with road matches averaging just 2.86 goals per game. Pairing these two totals together gives us a nice parlay near even money.
Portland Timbers
ML +110
Closing out the slate with a Cascadia rematch of a historic beatdown from two weeks ago. Portland will host Seattle after dismantling the Sounders 5-1 at Lumen Field in their return from the World Cup break. Seattle’s injury woes have been at extreme levels and things aren’t getting any better, as head coach Brian Schmetzer gave a discouraging update on Friday. Losers of five straight league games dating back to May 16, we’re going to pick on the Sounders to set a new club record by making it a sixth straight defeat on Saturday night.
Goal Scorers
Every week we’ll pick a few of our favorite goal scoring options in the betting market. Here are the Week 19 shouts.
Cavan Sullivan +320
Heung-Min Son +185
Antoine Griezmann +145
Timo Werner +220
Hany Mukhtar +225
Dor Turgeman +230
Pep Biel +295
Mateusz Bogusz +280
Diego Luna +275
Brandon Vazquez +285
Myrto Uzuni +320
Kristoffer Velde +200
To Score Or Assist
Brais Mendez +210
Jack McGlynn +170
Facundo Torres +215
To Score Or Assist Two Or More Goals
Hany Mukhtar +650
To Score Two Or More Goals
Heung-Min Son +1200 (0.5 U)
Timo Werner +1400 (0.5 U)
Results
Last Week: -7.25 U
2026 Season: +10.07 U
