The 2024 Major League Soccer regular season is hitting its home stretch. Teams across the league have played about 25 of their 34 games, leaving less than a third of the season left to secure their playoff spots. Mix in some off-schedule play in the Leagues Cup over the next few weeks, and you have a late-summer and early fall that should be full of exciting soccer across Canada and the United States. Today, we’ll take a look at who the favourites are to make noise in the two biggest upcoming championships – MLS Cup and Leagues Cup – and where Canada’s teams – CF Montreal, Toronto FC, and the Vancouver Whitecaps – stand in the mix.
2024 MLS Cup Futures Odds
| Top Teams | GP | PTS | bet365 | CAN Teams | GP | PTS | bet365 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Inter Miami | 25 | 53 | +175 | 7. Vancouver Whitecaps | 24 | 38 | +2000 |
| 2. Los Angeles FC | 24 | 47 | +600 | T19. CF Montreal | 25 | 27 | +10000 |
| 3. LA Galaxy | 26 | 49 | +800 | T19. Toronto FC | 26 | 30 | +10000 |
Canada’s best hope for it’s second-ever MLS Cup win, last achieved by Toronto FC in 2017, lies in the Whitecaps, much like it did last year. The lone team of the trio to make the playoffs last season, Vancouver currently has the most points of the bunch while having games in hand on both Toronto and Montreal, and currently sits fifth in the Western Conference with fourth or third not prohibitively far out of reach.
Their current position has been aided by a great run of form over the past month. Following back-to-back losses against New England and Portland, Vancouver has four wins, a loss, and a draw in their last six MLS games. Victories have come in many forms too, such as 4-1 and 4-3 results against St. Louis, or a tight 2-1 scoreline over Sporting KC in their most recent victory. Going down the list, Montreal has struggled with just one win in their last five games, and while Toronto’s all-around results with tournaments included have been good of late, their two wins in their last three MLS games only begin to reverse the bleeding created by a nine-game winless streak that spanned more than a month.
Leading the league-wide odds, unsurprisingly, are superteam Inter Miami, who took the league by storm in the second half of last year as Lionel Messi and his reinforcements came into town. They couldn’t dig far enough out of the hole they started the year off in and missed last season’s playoffs, but are now among the class of the league with a full year to work with. Through 25 games, they’ve lost just four times. Cross-town rivals LAFC and LA Galaxy, who are in a battle for the top the Western Conference, also see themselves battling for the second-shortest odds in the championship race.
Vancouver Whitecaps to win 2024 MLS Cup
2024 Leagues Cup Futures Odds
| Top Teams | bet365 | CAN Teams | bet365 |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1. Club America (LIGA MX) | +800 | T21. Vancouver Whitecaps | +4000 |
| T1. Inter Miami (MLS) | +800 | T25. Toronto FC | +6600 |
| 3. Los Angeles FC (MLS) | +1000 | 31. CF Montreal | +8000 |
Over the past few years, the Leagues Cup has become one of the fastest-growing tournaments not just in North America, but in the world. A super-showcase involving teams across MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX, it saw a boom in interest last season after both leagues decided to send all of their teams rather than just some. The fact that it was the first big tournament that Inter Miami could chase after in the Messi era certainly helped, especailly when they went on to win in dramatic fashion, beating Nashville SC in the the 2023 Final.
This year, Miami are among the favourites to defend their title, with LAFC seen as MLS’ other significant hope. Tied with Miami for the shortest odds are Liga MX giants Club America, who haven’t won Leagues Cup before, but have won the CONCACAF Champions Cup seven times and are perrenial contenders in their own domestic league.
The three Canadian MLS teams have had a strong showing in group stages. Vancouver defeated LAFC (2-2 + penalties) and Club Tijuana (3-1), and will face Pumas UNAM tomorrow in the Round of 32. Montreal lost to Orlando City in their first league group stage game (4-1) but rebounded against San Luis (3-2), and will take on the Philadelphia Union on Friday. Toronto stunned with wins against the New York Red Bulls (0-0 + penalties) and 2023 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners Pachuca (2-1), but due the seeding being built upon last year’s standings, winning their group gets them road match against Miami on Thursday.
Vancouver are currently favourites (+115) to advance on Wednesday, while Toronto, even with Messi currently sidelined, are +450 underdogs against Miami on Thursday. Odds for Montreal’s match against Philadelphia are yet to release. Vancouver is likely the safest bet of the three here as well, though if Toronto continues their hot streak and pulls off another upset, they’ll be a bet worth considering entering the Round of 16.
Toronto FC to defeat CF Miami (August 8) in Leagues Cup
2024 MLS Top Goal Scorer Odds
| Top Players | GP | G | bet365 | CAN Players | GP | G | bet365 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Cristian Arango (RSL) | 23 | 17 | +200 | 11. Brian White (VAN) | 23 | 12 | +4000 |
| 2. Christian Benteke (DCU) | 21 | 16 | +300 | T15. Ryan Gauld (VAN) | 24 | 9 | +10000 |
| 3. Denis Bouanga (LAFC) | 25 | 16 | +400 | T15. Josef Martinez (MON) | 15 | 5 | +10000 |
| 4. Lionel Messi (MIA) | 12 | 12 | +700 | T27. Federico Bernardeschi (TOR) | 23 | 8 | +15000 |
Looking beyond the teams, one can dip into the individual market by betting on the goal scoring race. Right now, it’s a battle of Cristian vs. Christian, as Arango of Real Satl Lake and Benteke of DC United both score at a pace of roughly three goals every four games. Right now, Benteke’s per-game clip is slightly better, but those games in hand only exist individually, as both of their teams have played 25 games. This gives Arango the edge. With that said, neither has been in brilliant form of late. Benteke is goalless in five of his last seven MLS games, while Arango is goalless in five of six.
An obvious curiousity for many comes in Messi, with his goal-per-game pace, but with his return timeline from his ankle injury suffered in Copa America still up in the air, he might run out of time to catch up to the crowd.
As far as Canadian team talents go, it’s going to be a long shot for anyone in this group to pick up the pace. Brian White of Vancouver has seven goals in his last six MLS games, but has a five-goal gap to close. Federico Bernardeschi of Toronto has the talent to go on a heater, but would require an outright supernovic push to catch up. If I had to pick from this group, it would probably be a lean towards Arango given his slight present edge and the strength of Salt Lake’s team, but all of the top three are viable options.
