Game Information
St. Louis CITY SC at San Diego FC
Time: 9:30pm CST Saturday
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
DraftKings Odds
Odds: San Diego +100, CITY +250, Draw +230
Total: 3 (over -110, under -125)
CITY Hope To Spoil Party
St. Louis CITY SC heads on the road for the first time this season, and they’ll be in southern California on Saturday for the first ever home game for new MLS expansion team San Diego FC.
Don’t be fooled though. Just like we saw with CITY in their inaugural season in 2023, San Diego doesn’t appear to be your typical expansion team.
San Diego Opening Eyes Across League
San Diego had a stiff test in their first ever regular season game last weekend, and they passed it with flying colors. San Diego went on the road and defeated the defending MLS champion LA Galaxy 2-0 - and it was no fluke.
San Diego had more possession, took more shots, had more corners, and won the expected goal (xG) battle 1.97 to 0.98. So they will be brimming with confidence in front of what is sure to be a raucous crowd.
CITY Aims To Finish
It was a good news, bad news type of night for CITY in their season opening 0-0 draw last weekend against Colorado. They dominated play by out-shooting the Rapids 17-2 and won the xG battle 2.01 to 0.20. But they didn’t create many big chances and were unable to find the back of the net.
CITY will almost certainly need to find a way to score on Saturday in order to get a result, as it’s hard to envision San Diego not scoring in their franchise home opener.
My Pick
I’m heading to DraftKings for a Same Game Parlay for my bet for this game.
I am very confident that San Diego will not lose this game. They played incredibly well against the defending champions, so I don’t know how you can reasonably expect CITY to win this game in front of what will be as crazy of a home crowd that you will see all season long.
But I do think CITY is going to score a goal. Since Bradley Carnell got fired last season, CITY has scored at least one goal in 12 of their 15 games - and they haven’t been shut out two games in a row during that stretch. I think positive regression hits and they get on the scoresheet tomorrow - meaning a 1-1 draw is definitely in play for the draw specialists that are St. Louis CITY SC.
So instead of taking San Diego on the money line, I like having some draw protection where that 1-1 scoreline is a winning bet.
Pick: DraftKings Same Game Parlay priced at -110 - Both Teams To Score Yes AND San Diego FC to win or tie (take up to -120)
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the Sports Hub STL YouTube channel. Click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Disclaimer