Okay MyBookie soccer betting nation, while the biggest news to come out of the USL has been the recent announcement that Phoenix Rising won’t host the 2020 USL final, there’s a pair of conference finals clashes on tap for Saturday that are both offering a ton of value.
While Phoenix Rising recorded a league-high tying 11 victories during the regular season, they won’t host this year’s final because of a recent homophobic slur by forward Junior Flemmings that was directed at San Diego Loyal midfielder Collin Martin. Again though, with four teams remaining in the chase for this year’s championship hardware, let’s find out which teams are offering the best soccer betting value against their USL odds.
2020 USL Championship Playoffs | Conference Finals Analysis
Louisville City FC (11-2-3) Vs Tampa Bay Rowdies (10-3-3)
- When: Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 7:30 PM ET
- Where: Lynn Family Stadium
Louisville City finished the regular season atop the group E standings while scoring 28 goals ad conceding just 12 goals defensively. Louisville City won their quarterfinal clash against Pittsburgh 2-0 on October 10 before getting past St. Louis by the same score in Saturday’s semifinal matchup.
Tampa Bay finished in first place in group H while putting 25 goals in the back of the net and allowing just 11 goals defensively. The Rowdies smacked Birmingham around en route to a commanding 4-2 win in the conference quarterfinals on October 10 before getting past Charleston 1-0 in their hard-fought semifinal matchup on Saturday.
Prediction
Louisville has won eight straight games and is unbeaten in their last 13 matches overall. The group E winners have not lost to Tampa Bay in any of their last five meetings while recording a 2-1 win over the Rowdies on October 26 of last season in their last meeting.
While Tampa Bay has an elite defense that will keep this game close until the final horn, Louisville has the slightly better offense, not to mention they’ve been completely focused and locked-in for a while now. Keep it simple with your USL pick on this matchup and back Louisville City to take another step toward claiming this year’s USL Championship trophy.
Pick: Louisville City 2 Tampa Bay 1
Phoenix Rising FC Vs El Paso Locomotive
- When: Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 10:30 PM ET
- Where: Casino Arizona Field
Phoenix finished atop the group B standings while scoring a league-high 46 goals and allowing just 17 goals defensively. The Rising got past Sacramento 1-0 in the quarterfinal round on October 10 before squeaking past Reno 1868 in a penalty goal shootout on Saturday after the game went to extra time following a 2-2 draw in regulation.
El Paso finished in first place in group C while putting 24 goals in the back of the net and conceding just 14 goals defensively. The Locomotive beat Tulsa on penalty goals after finishing regulation tied 2-2 on October 10 while repeating that penalty goal win in last week’s semifinal clash against the New Mexico United following their 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Prediction
As much as I’d like to dismiss Phoenix because of Junior Flemmings’ idiot slur, the fact of the matter is that the Rising are by far, the better team in this affair, even if they haven’t looked unbeatable this postseason. While El Paso has the statistically better defense in this matchup, Phoenix has the league’s most potent offense and I believe they are ready for a breakout performance after largely struggling the last two games. Phoenix gets it done by at least two goals in this conference final clash!
Pick: Phoenix 3 El Paso 1
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