opening schedules
Teams are ordered by their predicted finishing positions based on the odds.
Which teams have the toughest - and easiest - starts to the season?
We have used our MLS playoff odds to assess the strength of each team’s first 10 opponents, which are colour-coded as follows.
MLS 2022 season:
12/1 or shorter
16/1 to 25/1
40/1 to 50/1
66/1 or longer
Eastern Conference
Game
NE Revolution
New York City FC
Atlanta United
Philadelphia Union
Columbus Crew
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
10
The New England Revolution are one of the three shortest-priced teams this season and should get off to a good start with 7 of their first 10 opponents unlikely to make the playoffs.
David Beckham’s Inter Miami have a tough opening schedule which sees them play 4 of their first 10 games against teams predicted to challenge for the MLS Cup.
NY Red Bulls
Orlando City
Toronto
Inter Miami
Chicago Fire
DC United
Charlotte
Montréal
Cincinnati
Western Conference
Game
Los Angeles FC
Seattle Sounders
Sporting KC
Colorado Rapids
LA Galaxy
Minnesota United
Nashville
Portland Timbers
Dallas
Real Salt Lake
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Austin
San Jose Earthquakes
Vancouver Whitecaps
Houston Dynamo
The Seattle Sounders also have 7 easy fixtures in their first 10, which means that they could be among the early pace-setters in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile 7 of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ opening 10 games are against teams expected to challenge for the playoffs, so they could find themselves near the bottom of the table in the early part of the season.
MLS 2022 season:
what could happen?
Which matches have been the most one-sided?
Most points won per game over the last 5 regular seasons.
New York City FC
Los Angeles FC
Sporting KC
Philadelphia Union
Seattle Sounders
3.00
2.67
2.67
2.67
2.44
2.43
2.33
2.33
2.25
2.25
Cincinnati
Real Salt Lake
Chicago Fire
Cincinnati
Minnesota United
x36
New York City FC
Los Angeles FC
Sporting KC
Philadelphia Union
Seattle Sounders
Cincinnati
Real Salt Lake
Chicago Fire
Cincinnati
Minnesota United
Minimum 5 games played
New York City FC have a perfect record against Cincinnati over the last 5 seasons, winning all 6 of their encounters with a combined score of 22-5.
Which matches have seen the most goals scored?
NE Revolution
Cincinnati
Portland Timbers
Los Angeles FC
LA Galaxy
Orlando City
New York City FC
Real Salt Lake
SJ Earthquakes
Portland Timbers
Houston Dynamo
Minnesota United
Dallas
Orlando City
Los Angeles FC
LA Galaxy
SJ Earthquakes
LA Galaxy
Philadelphia Union
LA Galaxy
Most total goals per game over the last 5 regular seasons.
Minimum 5 games played
4.63
4.50
4.27
4.10
4.08
4.00
3.89
3.89
3.88
3.82
x69
4 of the 10 highest-scoring combinations over the last 5 seasons have involved the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Which matches have seen the fewest goals scored?
Columbus Crew
Cincinnati
NY Red Bulls
Atlanta United
Montréal
Philadelphia Union
NY Red Bulls
Philadelphia Union
NY Red Bulls
New York City FC
Dallas
Atlanta United
Cincinnati
Inter Miami
Real Salt Lake
Seattle Sounders
Inter Miami
Philadelphia Union
Nashville
Seattle Sounders
Fewest total goals per game over the last 5 regular seasons.
Minimum 5 games played
1.50
1.67
1.83
1.89
2.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
2.10
3 of the 4 lowest-scoring combinations in the last 5 seasons have involved the New York Red Bulls, with all seeing fewer than 2 goals scored per game.
Who will win the
MLS Cup?
It is unlikely to be the Supporter’s Shield winner - only 1 of the previous 10 seasons has seen the team with the best record in the regular season win the MLS Cup.
Season rank
Winner
Runner-up
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
All of the last 6 MLS Cup finals have featured at least one team who finished 6th or lower in the regular season standings.
