In Canada sports betting, it’s never too early to start figuring out trends for the 2025 Major League Soccer season. Here’s one: Teams with a 4-1 start or better through five games, such as the Vancouver Whitecaps now, have an excellent chance of making the playoffs at the end of the 34-game regular season.
At BetCanada.com, we wanted to know how teams have done when they collect at least 12 points (a 4-1 start or better) over the past 10 seasons. Here are those teams since 2015:
Year, Team | 5-Game Start | Postseason Result |
2015 Vancouver | 4-1, 12 points | Lost West semifinals |
2016 Sporting KC | 4-1, 12 points | Lost West prelim round |
2017 Orlando | 4-1, 12 points | Missed playoffs |
2018 NYCFC | 4-0-1, 13 points | Lost East semifinals |
2018 Atlanta United | 4-1, 12 points | Won MLS Cup |
2019 LAFC | 4-0-1, 13 points | Lost West final |
2019 L.A. Galaxy | 4-1, 12 points | Lost West semifinals |
2019 Seattle Sounders | 4-0-1, 13 points | Won MLS Cup |
2019 Houston Dynamo | 4-0-1, 13 points | Missed playoffs |
2020 Columbus Crew | 4-0-1, 13 points | Lost East Round of 16 |
2021 Seattle Sounders | 4-0-1, 13 points | Lost East first round |
2021 L.A. Galaxy | 4-1, 12 points | Missed playoffs |
2022 LAFC | 4-0-1, 13 points | Won MLS Cup |
2022 Philadelphia Union | 4-0-1, 13 points | Lost MLS Cup |
2023 St. Louis City | 5-0, 15 points | Lost West first round |
2023 New England Revolution | 4-1, 12 points | Lost East first round |
Of the 16 teams that started their seasons with at least 12 points (MLS awards three points for a win, one for a draw, none for a loss) through five games, 13 of them made the playoffs, or 81.25%. With the current 18-team playoff format, in which nine teams from each conference make the playoffs, the MLS betting odds of Vancouver making the playoffs in 2025 are extremely good.
The first team on our list of hot starts in the past decade is the 2015 Vancouver team that also won four of its first five. Those Whitecaps lost the Western Conference semifinals after finishing second in the West during the regular season.
Three teams since 2015 have collected at least 12 points from their first five games and gone on to win MLS Cup: The 2018 Atlanta United squad, the 2019 Seattle Sounders and LAFC in 2022. That LAFC team started 4-0-1, as did the team that it defeated in the final, the Philadelphia Union.
Top sports betting apps in Canada have Vancouver at +1400 American odds (or 15.0 decimal odds) to win the 2025 MLS Cup. That’s tied for third with the Columbus Crew, behind only Inter Miami (+335) and LAFC (+700).
Vancouver started 4-0 before losing 3-1 against visiting Chicago on March 22. Still, their 4-1 start means the Whitecaps are tied with Philadelphia for the most points (12) in the league.
The Whitecaps have 10 goals, an average of two per match; only Orlando (13 goals), Philly and Chicago (12 each) have scored more. And Vancouver has had well-distributed scoring; nine players have tallied a goal and only Sam Adekugbe, who is out with a hip injury, has two.
That kind of balanced scoring is hard for opponents to stop. For instance, last year’s MLS Cup champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy, got goals from 13 different players throughout the season including four players who recorded double-digit goal totals.
Vancouver has never gotten farther than the conference semifinals since joining the league in 2011, but the Whitecaps can keep their solid start going on Saturday when they visit Canadian rival Toronto FC (2:30 p.m. Eastern) at BMO Field. Pinnacle Canada Sportsbook has Vancouver at +144 odds to win the match. Toronto is +184, with +248 odds on a draw.
USA Today photo by Anne-Marie Sorvin
Author
Jim Tomlin is an editor and writer for BetCanada.com specializing in sports, gambling, and the intersection of those industries. He has 30+ years of journalism experience and his work has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition.
