The Columbus Crew will be making their first appearance in the Soccer Betting MLS Cup after they defeated the Chicago Fire 2-1. Chad Marshall and Eddie Gaven scored as Columbus took out Chicago last Thursday. The Crew will now face New York on Sunday in the MLS Cup at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

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The win for Columbus was a come from behind victory as Brian McBride scored the first goal of the game for Chicago. Marshall tied it in the 50th minute and five minutes later Gaven scored. The Crew nearly made it 3-1 in the 59th minute but Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch made a great save on Robbie Rogers. The game was a very physical affair that the referee let the players decide. Five yellow cards were given out in the game.

In the other semifinal it was New York defeating Real Salt Lake 1-0 on a goal by Dave van den Bergh. He scored in the 28th minute and New York held on for the win. It will be the first appearance in the MLS Cup for the Red Bulls. New York definitely had things go their way as Real Salt Lake hit the post three times in front of a sell-out crowd of 20,008 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Soccer Betting Picks: Columbus and New York to Meet for MLS Cup

There will be a new Soccer Betting MLS Cup champion this season as the New York Red Bulls took out the defending champion Houston Dynamo, winning 3-0 on Sunday. Dane Richards had a goal and an assist to lead the Red Bulls. New York tied the Dynamo 1-1 in the first leg so the winner of Sunday’s game advanced. New York will now play Real Salt Lake in the MLS Cup semifinals on Saturday. It is the second time that New York will have advanced to the Conference finals.

There will also be a new runner-up this season as the New England Revolution lost to the Chicago Fire. The Fire defeated New England 3-0 to advance to the conference finals. “It’s a big relief,” Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. “These are the guys that have knocked us out of the playoffs — I keep losing track of how many years.” New England had knocked out Chicago the last three seasons. “It was huge,” said Justin Mapp, “For most of the time I’ve been here, we’ve ended up playing them and, more often not, they’ve knocked us out.” New England was playing without Steve Ralston, who led the team in goals and assists and without Taylor Twellman who had tied for the team lead in goals. Chicago will now travel to Columbus in the Conference final.

Soccer Betting Preview: MLS Cup Playoffs Down to Final Four

The Soccer Betting 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs are underway as three of the first four matches ended in draws. Kei Kamara scored late to give Houston a 1-1 draw with New York. In other first-leg matches it was Columbus and Kansas City playing to a 1-1 draw, New England and Chicago playing to a scoreless draw and Real Salt Lake winning 1-0 against Chivas USA

All four opening playoff matches could have ended in draws but Real Salt Lake got a goal from Yura Movsisyan in the last minute of regulation to defeat Chivas. It was the second time that Movsisyan saved Real Salt Lake as he scored at Colorado last week to get Real Salt Lake into the playoffs. Now they can advance with a win or a tie at Chivas this weekend. Late heroics happened in another match as Steven Lenhart scored in the second minute of second-half stoppage time as Columbus got the 1-1 draw against Kansas City.

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The defending Eastern Conference champs are in a bit of trouble. They played to a scoreless draw against Chicago and now the Fire can advance with a win at home this weekend. Chicago had never even earned a point in six previous playoff trips to New England. It is the fourth straight year the Revolution and Fire have met in the playoffs, and the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

Soccer Betting Preview: MLS Playoffs Underway

The Los Angeles Galaxy faces the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night in what should be an exciting match. Last year the two teams played one of the best matches of the year in front of a huge crowd. A total of 66,237 people were in attendance for last year’s 5-4 New York victory. Both teams could use a big game on Saturday as neither is playing well. The Red Bulls are winless in their last three games while the Galaxy is winless in their last four. The teams are meeting for the second time this season. New York defeated Los Angeles on the road 2-1 in May.

Check out the current line for this game at SBG Global

New York was happy to have a break before Saturday’s game. They had played eight matches in a 26 day stretch. “I was just saying to the guys that it doesn’t seem we’re getting any breaks now,” Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. “At the moment, we don’t get any breaks from the game itself. Hopefully, we’ll get all those legs when we need them the most. I think it will turn around at some point.” New York picked up two players who could start on Saturday. Venezuelan Jorge Rojas and Argentinean Juan Pietravallo could see time in the midfield. The team is also trying to work out a deal with Venezuelan club Deportivo Italta for defender Gabriel Cichero.

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vA key game in the Soccer Betting Eastern Conference takes place on Sunday as the New York Red Bulls host the Chicago Fire. The Red Bulls are unbeaten in their last five overall but are still in fourth place in the conference. Chicago is tied for second in the conference.

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New York is a -160 favorite with a total of 2.5 under (-150) at SBG Global. The three-way line has New York +110, Chicago +220 and the Draw +220.

This is the first of three meetings between the teams this season. New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio will not be behind the bench as he is serving a suspension. “The Chicago match is like any other important match and I am disappointed that I won’t be with my team on the sideline when we face them.â€� Osorio said. The Red Bulls have 12 points from seven matches, and are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, four behind the second-place tie between the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution and seven behind league leader Columbus.

Read more on MLS Soccer Betting Preview: Chicago Fire at New York Red Bulls