MLS, or Major League Soccer, is a soccer league that is the top tier of soccer throughout Canada and the United States. MLS is comprised of 18 teams, 2 from Canada and 16 from the USA. The league is started towards the end of March and last all the way up until near the end of fall. The league is divided into a Western and Easter divisions. After the regular season is player there is then a post-season that consists of 8 teams and those 8 teams are the top 8 teams with the most points at the end of the season. The teams that can make the playoffs can be as lopsided as 6 teams from the West and 2 from the East, or an even 4 and 4 split between the two conferences.
The playoffs consist of two legged fixtures up until a final, one game, championship. The team that advances in the two games is determined by the amount of total goals a team has scored. The rule of away goals is used in the MLS Playoffs in the case of a tiebreaker. This means that if at the end of the 2 games the goal total is tied at 2. If any of the goals a team scored was away from home, that goal then counts as 2. In the case of a tie furthermore, or even a tie at the end of the championship game, the teams then play 2 fifteen minute extra time periods. If the game is still tied then it is decided on penalty kicks. The playoff system in MLS is much like fellow American sports but it is much different than most European leagues. In a majority of leagues in Europe, the team that has the most points at the end of the regular season is then declared champion.
Top Teams
In the MLS it is hard to find a team that consistently performs at a high level because rosters in this league change so often. More recently though teams like LA, Columbus, New York, and Houston have been considered the better teams in the league. What makes the MLS so interesting to watch is that most of the teams are all on a fairly even playing field. Of course every year there is one of those teams that just seems to run away with their conference. New teams like Portland, Philadelphia, and Vancouver are still young and have a little while to go until they will see their names at the top of the league.
DC United and New England Revolution were formally two of the best teams in the league and were unstoppable for a long while. In fact, DC United has the most MLS titles ever (4). Nowadays it is is a much different story for the two clubs. DC has been abysmal in recent years and have not really threatened any other team. New England has not been quite as bad as DC but they have been on that same track. Chicago is a team that kind of sneaks by all the time. The Fire are never really that bad, but at the same time they do not threaten many other teams in the league. Same too with Seattle, they are still a relatively young squad but still have been competing within the Western Conference.
The MLS has a new team every single year that surprises everyone and ends up making a major impact on the league. The MLS season is not quite as long as the EPL which means that teams have even less room to make mistakes. This is what ends p killing a lot of teams in the MLS, they get off to a bad start and then they are doomed for the rest of the season. Getting off to a quick start in the MLS season is imperative.
Betting on MLS
Betting on the MLS is mostly popular in the US but is also able to bet on almost everywhere else in the world. BetBubbles is at the forefront of betting on soccer in the US and especially for the MLS. Because of the new option of Live Betting, making interactive bets on MLS games is a lot easier and is a lot of fun. Even if you miss the kickoff to a match you are still able to place all types of bets on it.
The MLS is mainly bet on in the US because MLS is not significantly popular anywhere else in the world. The league itself is still in its infancy. All the wagers you can place on MLS games are more or less the same types of bets that you can place on any other soccer league in the world. Bodog offers a very comprehensive selection of MLS betting. Being that Bodog is the most popular US soccer betting website, it is where most people go to bet on games.
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