MLS Cup Odds: Orlando City Firing At The Right Time

The MLS season is nearing its end. We're already starting to see at least one team mathematically qualify for the postseason. A massive step towards winning this season's MLS Cup.

Cincinnati is the only squad in the league to have booked their ticket to the playoffs. Naturally, the Gary's are favored to win the Cup this year with +400 odds.

2023 MLS Cup Odds

Odds as of September 20

Why Are Cincinnati the Favorites For the MLS Cup?

Getting into the playoffs is a pretty important prerequisite to winning a championship. As previously stated Cinci are the only squad - at the time of writing - to have secured a spot in the postseason.

The Gary's have the best record in the MLS at 17-4-7 for 58 points. That's an eight-point cushion over the next-best squad in the league. They've been able to do that with an outstanding 12-1-1 record at home, a top-5 offense with 45 goals and a top-5 defense with  30 goals against. 

That home record is quite important when it comes to winning championships. Of the last five MLS champions, every single one of them was top-4 when it came to their home record. 

So going into the playoffs Cinci are the obvious favorites. It would be wild to consider anyone else.

MLS Cup Odds: Best bets

Philadelphia Union

Runners up from last year, the Union are fourth in points and have gone 4-1-1 in their last six matches with a +6 goal-differential. On the year that goal differential is +16, the second-best in the league this season.

Philli has a good blend of offense and defense. With 49 goals, the Union has the third-best offense in the league and has only allowed more than a single goal once in their last nine games. 

If not for an insanely late Gareth Bale goal in the 2022 Finals the Union would be this season's defending champions. This team knows what it takes to win it all. 

Orlando City

I really like Orlando's recent form. Because it's excellent. In their last six games, Orlando has gone 5-1-0. Extend that to their last 10 games and that record is 7-2-1. And they aren't just beating some of the bad teams in the league.

They handed Cincinnati their only home loss of the season and they took out third-place St. Louis 2-1. 

The first team to leave Cincy with all three points in 2023: @OrlandoCitySC. pic.twitter.com/dlLo9vKnZN

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 3, 2023

City are two points clear of New England for second in the league with 50 points. This isn't some squad that just happens to be good right now. They've been good all year long and are heating up at the right time.

Last 10 MLS Cup Champions

For the fan of competitiveness, the MLS has been a dream with no back-to-back winners over the last 10 years. Sure, the Seattle Sounders have won it twice in the previous decade, but those championships were separated by three years. This is a league where any team can win in any year.