Betting Picks

Wednesday August 11, 19:30 EST

Sports betting gets exciting as September nears and several professional leagues get underway. NFL betting has begun as teams are in training camp and preseason games begin.  The season is now less than a month away, while MLB betting is available daily as baseball draws nearer to the playoffs. Meanwhile, Major League Soccer is in the second half of the season and races are heating up.

An exciting Eastern conference matchup takes place midweek in New York City between two teams battling for top spots in the table.  Only one point separates second place Red Bulls and third place Toronto as they two clubs play the first of two games against each other in the next 10 days.  New York travels to Toronto on Saturday August 21 and both games can go a long way in deciding the top positions.

Both teams seem comfortably situated in the second and third spots, as Chicago sits in fourth with 20 points, six back of Toronto.  Meanwhile Columbus is in full control of the conference in first with 37 points.

As close at the two clubs are in the table, this game could very well be a huge mismatch.  Toronto has only one win and one draw in eight road games this year, scoring seven goals while conceding 15.  TFC simply cannot play well on the road, and among the worst away teams in the league. Meanwhile, New York has been impressive at home winning five of eight and only losing two.  While they have only tallied nine scores at home, they have allowed only seven, earning three blanks in New York. New York is back at home after three straight away game in which they drew two and won the other.

Dwayne DeRosario and Chad Barrett continue to lead TFC in scoring with eight and six goals respectively, accounting for two-thirds of the team’s offense.  New York, on the other hand, has relied offensively on the legs of one man, Juan Pablo Angel, who has netted 11 of the Red Bulls’ 20 goals.

Though Toronto has struggled away from home in the MLS, they found recent success in Honduras, drawing CD Motagua, coming from behind twice in the second half to tie at 2, earning an aggregate 3-2 win in CONCACAF Champions League play. Both De Rosario and Barrett scored.

While Toronto is coming off a 2-1 win over Chivas USA, they have dropped their last two road games. The only away points earned this season, strangely enough, were on the west coast in a draw against Los Angeles and a win over San Jose.

Betting lines:  Toronto FC have a short week and are on the road where they continue to struggle.  Despite the motivation to catch a team ahead of them in the table, TFC may be looking ahead to the rematch in 10 days.  TFC will falter and drop the match as New York wins, 2-0.