Barely 2 months after the 2021 season ended, Major League Soccer is back. The 2022 season marks the debut of Charlotte FC, bringing the league to a full 28 teams and ensuring that each squad will have the opportunity to play on each matchday. The upcoming World Cup in November requires the league to wrap up a few weeks prior to that, hence the unseasonably early start to the calendar. But while the offseason was brief, it was still as action-packed as any prior year.
The biggest news, arguably, of the offseason was Toronto’s signing of Lorenzo Insigne from Napoli. Insigne is still just 30 years old — he’ll be 31 by the time he joins Toronto in July — and, having played a part in Italy’s Euro 2020 title last summer, is still very much in the prime of his career.
But while there weren’t a ton of big-name transfers, teams continued to make depth signings from leagues all across the world, bringing in veterans from Europe and young upstarts from South America. As we’ve seen, those are the moves that truly create champions – how many casual fans had heard of Valentin Castellanos before he signed with NYCFC, winning the Golden Boot and leading them to the title?
2022 MLS season best bets
In a league with 28 teams, low-scoring games and single-elimination playoffs, picking a champion before the season is impossibly difficult. But given the odds from DraftKings, we’re going to analyze a few bets that you should and shouldn’t place now based on the value they provide you.
2022 MLS season best bet: New England Revolution (+900)
The Revolution dominated the Eastern Conference from start to finish last year, and while they fell at the first hurdle in the playoffs, they’ve only improved since then, bringing in Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Lletget to form what is truly the most complete all-around lineup in the league. While goalie Matt Turner is set to leave for the Premier League around midseason, the rest of the team should have no problem reaching the playoffs, and once they do, they now have the experience they need to win in those important rounds. Taking New England to make 10 times your bet is a good idea.
2022 MLS season longshot: Inter Miami (+5000)
Is Inter Miami going to lift the trophy at the end of the season? Probably not, and if you were given even odds for each team in the league, there’s no way they’d even come close to your top 5. Miami is a team led by veterans, with USMNT standout DeAndre Yedlin coming over from Galatasaray to join Gonzalo Higuain. They’ve also turned over a good chunk of their roster in the offseason, and while that might make some uneasy, it’s worth remembering that, no matter how strong David Beckham’s team looked on paper the past 2 years, they just didn’t pan out on the field. A collection of new faces, but guided by the same leadership, is worth a small play at such long odds.
Team to avoid: NYC FC (+700)
The only thing harder than winning the MLS Cup title is defending that title. It hasn’t been done in 10 years, since the Galaxy won back-to-back cups at a time when there were 9 fewer teams in the league than there are now. Had New York not won last year, their odds wouldn’t be anything close to what they are now, and it’s worth remembering that they had 2 extensive scoring droughts throughout the season before finally finding their best game in the playoffs. Also, Castellanos has been linked to transfer rumors both in Europe and in his native Argentina, and while he’s staying in New York for now, don’t be surprised to see him depart – or at least begin to think about his departure – sometime down the road this season.
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