As Manchester United prepares for the final months of the Premier League season, it’s a very different story in America’s MLS, according to New Jersey’s betting sites. Their new season gets underway on February 21 and there are plenty of reasons for United fans and bettors to follow what’s happening across the Atlantic.
Most interest of course is centred on Inter Miami and they will be hoping for a better league season than last term. The club that is part-owned by Old Trafford legend David Beckham only had Toronto FC below them in the Eastern Conference. They were nine points behind the final play-off position, not quite what you expect from a side that includes Lionel Messi.
There was a sign of better times to come though. With Messi signed from PSG, they did win the Leagues Cup beating Nashville SC in the final via a penalty shootout. The game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes with Messi scoring their goal. He ended the cup competition as the top goal scorer with ten in total.
He only scored one goal in the MLS last season but hopes are high he can score a lot more this new season. He’s not the only big name they’ve signed with Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba also making their way to Miami.
David Beckham isn’t the only United link that Inter Miami have. Phil Neville is a former head coach of the club. He was in charge between January 2021 and June of last year but a 38% win rate wasn’t good enough to keep him his job.
His son Harvey is back at the club after a loan spell at Loudon United. He was a member of the Manchester United youth squad and also at City and Valencia. Unlike his father he didn’t make it at Old Trafford and headed across the Atlantic, initially to Fort Lauderdale. It won’t be easy for him to break into the Inter Miami first team but it’ll be interesting to see how he gets on.
A look at the betting odds for the new MLS season also makes interesting reading. Despite their poor final position in the Eastern Conference last season, Inter Miami are the favorites to not just win the Conference but go all the way in the play-offs and win the MLS Cup for the first time.
They face tough opposition from clubs such as the current MLS Cup holders Columbus Crew, FC Cincinnati, Los Angeles FC, New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union.
It’s commonplace for United fans to be placing bets on their team. It’s possible to do so online, in High Street betting shops and on your mobiles. In the USA it’s not been such a regular occurrence.
Until a US Supreme Court Judge ruling in 2018, few states had made sports betting legal. The ruling allowed individual states to have the final say on whether or not to legalize sports betting. Once that ruling was made the floodgates began to open and over 30 US states have done so.
That includes Florida which is good news for those in the state who want to bet on Inter Miami. It didn’t happen right away after that ruling by the US Supreme Court Judge. There’s been plenty of other court rulings in the state that led to the Hard Rock Bet app being shut down and remaining closed for nearly two years. Rows between gambling companies and the Seminole Tribe that runs gambling in the state caused the delays. Another court ruling in June of last year has seen sports betting legal again with the Hard Rock Bet app resuming last December just in time for the new MLS season.
Other players in the MLS who will be familiar to United fans include Teemu Pukki. The former Norwich City striker is now at Minnesota United. Christian Benteke played for Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Liverpool in the Premier League. He’s now playing for D.C. United having joined them in 2022.
D.C. United of course used to be coached by Wayne Rooney in 2022 and 2023. His time there didn’t go too well as a coach but he did play for them towards the end of his career scoring 23 goals for them.
The former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is now between the sticks at Los Angeles FC. It’s noticeable though that the number of Premier League players crossing the Atlantic isn’t that high. Saudi Arabia seems to be the go-to destination more at present.
