Toronto FC continued its historic pace with another statement win over the weekend, solidifying its position as the top team in MLS. New York City FC kept pace just four points back with a win of it own over the weekend and remains in the second spot in the power rankings this week. The rest of the rankings stayed the same this week but that has more to do with the recent struggles of a couple of teams in particular than anything else. Here is a look at the MLS top five power rankings for this week.
1. Toronto FC
Last Week: 1
MLS Championship Odds: +500
Toronto FC extended its undefeated streak with a 3-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday. Marky Delgado, Nicolas Hasler and Sebastian Giovinco each found the back of the net as TFC pushed its streak to seven in a row with at least a point. Toronto leads the MLS with 50 points and with just three league losses they are now at the point where they are closing in on a historical season. Only three teams in MLS history have ever averaged at least two points per game for an entire season. Right now TFC has averaged exactly two points per game. The most points by a team in the post-shootout era is 67 by the LA Galaxy, which appears to be well within reach for Toronto with nine games left in the regular season. The Reds have conquered every challenge thrown at them so far this season. At this point, there is no doubt that they are the favorites to win the MLS championship after falling one victory shy of that accomplishment last season.
2. New York City FC
Last Week: 2
MLS Championship Odds: +700
The fact that Toronto has been so good has resulted in NYCFC flying under the radar a little bit of late despite registering 46 points in 25 matches this season. New York City has won three in a row and four of its last five to close the gap behind TFC to four points atop the Eastern Conference. Those two clubs won’t meet again this season so NYCFC will need a little help if its going to catch the Reds in the standings. Anything can happen with plenty of time left in the regular season. For New York City FC, the focus has to remain on registering as many points as possible while staying healthy the remainder of the way in order to be ready for the postseason.
3. Chicago Fire
Last Week: 3
MLS Championship Odds: +1000
Chicago’s struggles continued with a 3-1 loss to Toronto FC over the weekend. The Fire has dropped three in a row and now has just one win in its last seven games. The only good news for Chicago is that nobody else has been good enough to leapfrog them in the standings following their solid start to the year. With three of their next four at home, Chicago will need to find a way to get back on track before falling any further in the Eastern Conference standings.
4. FC Dallas
Last Week: 4
MLS Championship Odds: +1000
The only reason that the Fire remained at No. 3 on our list this week is because FC Dallas has been equally terrible of late. Maximiliano Urruti and company fell 2-0 at Sporting KC over the weekend. They have now dropped three of their last four while failing to pick up a win over that span. It isn’t about to get any easier for FC Dallas with five in a row against teams in playoff contention. Three of those five games will be at home, so FC Dallas must rise to the occasion in front of its home fans as it has all season while registering a 6-2-4 record as the host side.
5. Seattle Sounders
Last Week: 5
MLS Championship Odds: +1000
The Sounders maintained their two-way tie atop the Western Conference standings with a 2-1 win over Minnesota on Sunday. Seattle has strung together three victories in a row and has won six of its last seven overall. The Sounders haven’t actually lost a game since a 2-1 defeat at the hands of NYCFC on June 17th. Seattle will need to keep on winning in order to fend off Sporting KC at the top of the Western Conference standings. There isn’t a hotter team in that conference right now. It’s only a matter of time before they climb up these power rankings if they continue to win. At +1000 odds to win an MLS championship this season, the time is now if you want to bet on the Sounders to win it all in 2017.
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