let's keep rolling folks !
GL

I will be out of town over the weekend, so here are my plays:

LAFC at Montreal O3 +110
Houston Dynamo -1, -1.5 -105...Toronto is fielding a "B" team as the "A" team is playing in the CONCACAF playoffs.

Current Record 10-14 -3.08 units

GL

Friday MLS

2* Vancouver +618 vs KC

Vancouver with some injury issues for sure and inarguably not as much striking power without Kamara in lineup tonight,but this is simply too large a number for KC to lay.Vancouver with plenty of skill ever without Kamara and I think this will be a tight game where Vancouver maybe should be +200-250, but not +618.I like Whitecaps tonight. GL

Vancouver Whitecaps at Sporting Kansas City (Friday 9 p.m. ET)
Moneyline odds: Sporting KC -191, Vancouver +620, Draw +334

Vancouver looks to recover after dropping their last two games, most recently a 2-0 home loss to LA FC. Striker Kei Kamara (groin) is out, which could further impact the line — Kamara already has three goals and two assists this season for the Whitecaps, and is always a presence when he’s on the field.

Sporting KC are coming off a 2-2 home draw vs. Seattle, a somewhat disappointing result even though it extended their unbeaten run to six matches. Fortunately they come into Friday night’s match healthy, and they’ve had solid historical success against Vancouver at home (4-1-1).

Since opening -201, Sporting KC has moved to -191, a slight drop-off. The majority of bets have come in on Vancouver to win (+620) and draw (+334), which has brought the lines down accordingly. I can’t justify paying -191 for Sporting to win at home and don’t see much value on Vancouver or the draw.

Despite the title race now being officially over, there’s still plenty at stake down the stretch including Champions League bids, Europa League bids and relegation battles. We’ll also see personnel changes for many clubs, most notably Arsene Wenger leaving Arsenal after 22 seasons as manager. Merci Arsčne, indeed.


Liverpool at West Brom (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET on NBC Sports)
Crystal Palace at Watford (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET on NBC Sports)
West Ham at Arsenal (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET on NBC Sports)
Burnley at Stoke City (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET on PLP)
Swansea at Manchester City (Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET on NBC Sports)
Newcastle at Everton (Monday, 3 p.m. ET on NBC Sports)

West Brom still aren’t officially relegated but it would take a miracle to climb out of the bottom. As a result, books aren’t offering odds. The clubs most likely to join them are Stoke City (-1000) and Southampton (-225), but I still think Swansea (+450) are a decent bet to be demoted.

Liverpool at West Brom (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET)
Moneyline odds: Liverpool -191, West Brom +615, Draw +345

Can West Brom pull off back-to-back upsets by beating Liverpool on Saturday? The odds suggest it’s not likely, but bettors at Bookmaker seem to feel good about it with more than 40% of tickets on the home side. However, lopsided action is on Liverpool around the rest of the market, including 5Dimes, BetUS and Sportsbook.

It’d be unfair to say that Liverpool are completely looking past Saturday’s match and focusing solely on their Champions League semifinal clash with Roma. Jurgen Klopp will want his squad in-form as they prepare for Tuesday, but the sense of urgency just may not be there. For West Brom, playing at home after a big road win should give them some confidence so I like the low-risk value on West Brom +1 goals (+110).

Crystal Palace at Watford (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET)
Moneyline odds: Crystal Palace +160, Watford +196, Draw +244

Crystal Palace have looked like a different squad over the last few weeks and another win would essentially ensure they’re staying in the Premier League next year. Watford are trending in the opposite direction and could find themselves level on points with their opponents if they lose. Sharp money has already sucked a lot of value out of this line, but Crystal Palace +160 is still a solid bet.

West Ham at Arsenal (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET)
Moneyline odds: Arsenal -182, West Ham +528, Draw +365

Sunday’s match will be an emotional one for all Arsenal fans as manager Arsene Wenger recently announced he’ll be leaving the club at the end of the season. Wenger has defined Arsenal since arriving in 1996, leading the club to three Premier League titles and seven FA Cup titles among other countless accolades.

The Gunners are focused on winning the Europa League and may not put out their best starting XI on Sunday morning, which is why the line is short at -182. However, they’ve been dominant at home compared to a poor road record, and West Ham will not be able to keep them off the scoresheet. I expect the home fans to be engaged and for this line to rise until Sunday morning, so grab Arsenal -182 while it’s available.

Burnley at Stoke City (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET)
Moneyline odds: Stoke +127, Burnley +265, Draw +229

Another dreaded Burnley match to look forward to, and a draw to like. Burnley have continued to outperform expectations, losing only four road matches all season as they seek a sixth-place finish in the league.

All the line movement has been toward Stoke City in this one, but public betting is relatively even across the board. With another low total of 2 goals, I’m once again taking the draw +229.

Swansea at Manchester City (Sunday, 11 a.m. ET)
Moneyline odds: Man City -697, Swansea +2280, Draw +866

If Swansea were to win this match, it’d be the biggest upset in the Premier League that we’ve ever tracked. I’m still hoping for the Swans to be relegated so I’ll be cheering for a Man City win, but there’s no value in the line at -697 or the spread at -2/-2.5.

The FA Cup started with 737 clubs back in early August, was trimmed to 124 through qualifying rounds by mid-October and is now down to four:

Manchester United vs. Tottenham (Saturday, 12:15 p.m. ET)
Chelsea vs. Southampton (Sunday, 10 a.m ET)
Both semifinal matches will be played at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Tottenham will have a bit of a “home-field” advantage considering the venue has been their temporary abode this season. The final will take place on May 19, also at Wembley.

This is the only trophy that all four of these clubs have a shot at winning this season, and they’re all coming off a road fixture in midweek Premier League action.

Manchester United vs. Tottenham (Saturday, 12:15 p.m. ET)
Moneyline Odds: Tottenham +125, Man Utd +241, Draw +248
Odds to Advance: Tottenham -146, Man Utd +130

One of the biggest questions for this match will be what United manager Jose Mourinho decides to do with his starting lineup. Alexis Sanchez was benched for their most recent match against Bournemouth and was not used as a substitute, while Romelu Lukaku came on in the 62nd minute to score. United kept a clean sheet with a 2-0 victory, washing away the bad taste in their mouth after losing to West Brom at home. I doubt we’ll see Alexis starting Saturday, so here’s a potential lineup:

Man United starting XI: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Bailly, Young, Matic, Herrera, Pogba, Lingard, Lukaku, Rashford

There are hardly any injury concerns for either side coming into Saturday’s match, so both should be at full strength. Here’s a consensus of what Tottenham’s lineup could look like:

Tottenham starting XI: Lloris, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Dembele, Son, Alli, Eriksen, Kane

In head-to-head matchups this season, both clubs held serve with home shutout victories — Man United 1-0 at Old Trafford in October, and Tottenham 2-0 at Wembley Stadium in January.

Tottenham are slight +125 favorites to win Saturday’s meeting in regular time and -146 to advance to the final. There’s been a little bit of action on the Spurs so far, as they opened +135 to win in regulation and -140 to advance. Man United are currently being offered at +241 to win in regular time and +130 to advance to the final.

Keep in mind that moneyline odds are based on 90 minutes of regular time, so draws are possible results. If the game is still tied after 90 minutes of regulation, they’ll play 30 minutes of extra time and then penalty kicks to decide a winner.

The total is trending toward the under (2.5, u-114), so we may see Mourinho’s squad sit back and simply try to counter. If that’s the case, a 1-1 draw in regulation could be in store, but I’m hoping to see a wide-open and exciting affair.

Chelsea vs. Southampton (Sunday, 10 a.m. ET)
Moneyline Odds: Chelsea -198, Southampton +623, Draw +359
Odds to Advance: Chelsea -458, Southampton +380

Chelsea are big favorites to advance to their second consecutive FA Cup Final, but they know it will be more difficult than the odds suggest. Just a week ago, they needed to rally from a two-goal deficit late in the second half to beat Southampton 3-2 in EPL action, making this meeting even more fascinating.

Both clubs have played since then, with Chelsea earning a 2-1 victory at Burnley and Southampton grabbing a 0-0 draw at Leicester City. Here’s what potential lineups could look like on Sunday:

Chelsea starting XI: Courtois, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Moses, Kante, Willian, Fabregas, Hazard, Giroud

Southampton starting XI: McCarthy, Bednarek, Yoshida, Hoedt, Bertrand, Soares, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Long​

Pinnacle is offering a generous price of -198 for Chelsea to win in regulation, but most sportsbooks have them shaded in the -210 range. There’s definitely juice trending toward the over (2.5, o-127), and we’ll likely see Giroud up top instead of Morata, a good sign for over bettors. It’s also possible they’ll play up top together, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Early Friday the over was listed at 2.5 o-117, and we may see this total tick up to 3.

While I don’t see a whole lot of value on the moneyline, spread or total, I think it’s a good bet at +130 that Giroud will score any time in the match. He has played in three FA Cup Finals already and will have a bit to prove in the last few games of this season. If he gets the start he’ll get plenty of chances, but even if he comes off the bench he’ll be a threat in the box.

LA FC at Montreal Impact (Saturday 1 p.m. ET)
Moneyline odds: Montreal +138, LA FC +184, Draw +281

LA FC earned a solid 2-0 win at Vancouver last weekend after head coach Bob Bradley switched to a 4-3-3 formation. LA has plenty of attacking firepower including Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi, so the more offensive-minded formation makes sense.

Montreal suffered a 3-1 road loss at New York Red Bulls last Saturday, pushing their all-time record at the Red Bulls to nine losses, zero wins, zero draws. The scoreline was a bit misleading considering the Impact played pretty well while generating quality chances. They also got back one of their best players, Ignacio Piatti, due to injury, which should help them down the road.

The market clearly thinks there will be a winner in this one with Montreal set at +138 and LA FC +184. The draw has the longest odds at +281, and neither of these teams has drawn a match in 11 tries this season. However, at a price of +281, there’s great value in this game ending 1-1 or 2-2.

— Atlanta United has finally made it to Hollywood, where they'll play a prominent role in this weekend's episode of “What Will Zlatan Do?” and they're looking to upstage the star of the show.

It's the Five Stripes' first trek to StubHub Center to face the LA Galaxy (Saturday, 10:30 pm; TV & streaming info) where the home team is wary of what they can do — and confident it can dim the spotlight that follows last year's breakout stars.

Atlanta United's explosive attack, perhaps the most entertaining thing in MLS at the moment, offers some unique challenges, and the Galaxy, who figure to give Zlatan Ibrahimovic his first home start, well understand what it'll face Saturday night.

Josef Martinez has continued on his almost-a-goal-a-game pace, Miguel Almiron might be the best player in the league and what better stage for heralded teen Ezequiel Barco's breakout, right?

There are few sides in MLS so adept in the attack, and the key, LA head coach Sigi Schmid says, is their pace.

“Atlanta just has really good team speed,” he said. “There's a lot of players there with good speed — Josef Martinez, Almiron is one of the fastest players, if not the fastest, in the league, and then you have [Hector] Villalba, when he plays, he has some pace as well. ...

“They like to get out on the break, they like to counterattack, they try and stretch your defense as much as possible, an they're pretty physical as well. ... They want to come out and they want to press the first 10, 15 minutes of a half, if they can, so you've got to be prepared for that.”

The Five Stripes are among the more direct of MLS teams, and defenses must make difficult decisions in limited time when they come barreling down the field.

“They have a plethora of options,” Galaxy winger Chris Pontius told MLSsoccer.com. “When they go fast, they go fast. There's good service from the outside, and they've got a couple of different pieces that can hit you. That's a tough thing to defend against. That's why they're so good.”

Almiron is a mighty string-puller, but quieting Martinez is vital to stopping the league's top-ranked offensive outfit. The Venezuelan striker has a league-best five goals, and he's netted 24 in 26 career MLS regular-season games and 23 starts. He's got six multi-goal games, with four hat tricks, and Atlanta United is 12-0-2 when he puts the ball in the net.

“He's always playing on the edge of your backline. He's always looking to get there,” Schmid said. “There was one play last week that I watched five times, and he certainly looked offsides to me, but sometimes the offsides call doesn't happen, and he's always teetering with the edge. If that gets called, it gets called, and if it doesn't get called, then it's a goal.”

Atlanta is still looking for real success — it lost on penalties to Columbus Crew SC in the knockout round of last year's playoffs — but their approach to building an attractive and marvelously entertaining side has resonated around the league. Schmid sees some similarities with the Seattle Sounders team that joined the league, with Schmid as head coach, in 2009.

“I think they emulate some of the things Seattle did on and off the field,” he said. “When you can look at somebody's else's approach to it, a lot of times you can make a few things better, or you can sharpen up some things, and I think they did that. They have an extremely supportive owner in Arthur Blank, a guy who's really behind the team and believes in what they're doing. ...

“They've created a culture where, 'Hey, this is something fun, this is something hip to do, something that is worth you're entertainment dollar, and that's something the public in Atlanta has bought into, and they've come out and enjoyed the whole experience of MLS.”

The mirroring of fixtures between Liverpool and Manchester United continues this week. Earlier in the week, Manchester United played Bournemouth, whom the Reds had played last Saturday. Now, this Saturday, Liverpool gear up to visit The Hawthorns to play West Bromwich Albion, who beat Manchester United at Old Trafford last Sunday. Liverpool fans certainly will be hoping that the parallelism ends at the fixture similarity and does not extend to the results.

Before last week’s shock win over the Red Devils, West Brom seemed doomed for relegation. They still are the favourites to be relegated first and it could happen as early as this game week if all the results go against them. However, with that win in Manchester, the Baggies have given themselves a glimmer of hope. The ask for them is simple – win all their remaining four games and hope that one of the teams from 17th placed Swansea to 14th placed West Ham is not able to reach 36 points. Results under the newly appointed Darren Moore have been promising as he has arrested a run of defeats and is trying to turn the ship around with a draw against Swansea and the aforementioned win at Old Trafford. But, in Liverpool, he faces a different kind of a challenge.

There are no such worries for Liverpool, who have one eye on the Champions League semi-final against AS Roma to be played next week. But they cannot really afford to ignore this league fixture completely. Chelsea are almost out of the race for top-four but not completely out of it. If the Blues beat Burnley on Friday, they will be 7 points behind the Reds with both teams having 4 games to play. As last season’s champions showed us last weekend, they have a lot of fight in them and can catch up on those 7 points. Thus, while Jurgen Klopp should indeed prepare for the semi-final, he and his team should also prepare to shore up the points in the league. While last Saturday’s win against Bournemouth did not indicate any drop in intensity from the Reds, Klopp will be required to rotate in some of these league games. Liverpool fans will hope that their team can continue its winning run despite a few rotations.

INTERESTING STATS
Of the 150 matches that have been played, West Brom have won 39 times, there have been 43 draws and Liverpool have been victorious on 68 occasions. However, Liverpool only lead the head to head tie by four wins if we look at matches played at The Hawthorns ahead of their 60th clash with WBA there.
This season is the first since 1921/22 that West Brom have beaten both Liverpool and Manchester United away from home.
Sadio Mane is now the highest scoring Senegalese player in PL history having notched 44 goals, outdoing Demba Ba’s previous record of 43.
Jurgen Klopp’s record vs West Brom indeed is incongruent with his overall record while in charge of Liverpool. Under the German’s guidance, the Reds have lost one and drew three against the Baggies, while winning twice. The latest encounter saw West Brom ending Liverpool’s FA Cup campaign earlier this season.
KEY MEN
Ahmed Hegazi

Outscoring Liverpool is out of the question for West Brom. Thus, if the Baggies are to overcome the Reds, the home side will need to stop the visitors from scoring. And to achieve this goal, their key man will be Ahmed Hegazi. With 7.3 clearances per 90 minutes, he ensures that there are few second – or third- ball chances available to the attacking teams. He is relatively sharp in anticipating the attackers’ passes and does intercept 1.6 every 90 minutes. His blocking is equally good, as he blocks 1 shot and 0.2 crosses every 90 minutes. Thus, Hegazi will ensure that Liverpool have to work that bit more to get the goals they will need. He just might ensure that the Reds do not get the goals they may need.

Roberto Firmino

One stat that emerged this week was that in 130 years of league football, Roberto Firmino is the first player to create 50+ chances and complete 60+ tackles in a single season. So, even if it is likely that he may not start on Saturday as he will be rested for the semifinal, chances are that he will play a major role in deciding the game – especially given how blunt Solanke and Ings have been in front of the goal. Roberto Firmino has scored 15 goals and 7 assists in the league. He has contributed to five goals (3 scored, 2 assisted) in his last five league appearances. While the Baggies might be justifiably worried about Salah, they would do well to mark Firmino well too.

TEAM NEWS
West Brom cannot play Sturridge in this game as he cannot play against his home club. Jonny Evans, Nacer Chadli, Gareth Barry and James Morrison are all sidelined as well. This could mean that Darren Moore sticks to the same eleven that beat Manchester United on Sunday.

Liverpool need to rotate so that their key players are rested and available for next week’s semifinal against Roma. Thus, we can expect starts for Ings, Solanke, Klavan, Moreno and possibly even Clyne. Matip, Lallana, and Emre Can are definitely out, while Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren are both doubtful to start.

THE VERDICT
While the Baggies have caused trouble for Liverpool earlier this season – in fact, they have not lost to the Reds yet this season – but on Saturday, it will be difficult for them to continue that unbeaten run. Yes, the Reds will likely start without their prolific front three, but they will also come into this game after a full week’s rest. A well-rested Liverpool side, even though slightly depleted, will be more than a match for West Brom. It may not be as easy a win as the last game against Bournemouth was, but Liverpool should edge this encounter in the end.

WEST BROM 1 – 2 LIVERPOOL

It’s the big game in Wembley as twelve-time champions Manchester United take on Pochettino Tottenham Hotspur in their temporary backyard for a place in the FA Cup final.

It is a silly exercise to boil a season down to the outcome of one game but such has been the year for Manchester United where they fell short of what was expected of them in all the competitions this season. A title challenge eluded them in the league while they failed to defend the League Cup – conceding the trophy to rivals Manchester City.

But strangely, the biggest disappointment came in the Champions League – where after a solid group stage showing, Mourinho’s side failed to kick on in a way Mourinho’s side usually does in Europe – as they were unexpectedly but fully deservedly ousted by Spain’s Sevilla – the league’s fifth best team. Mourinho has prided himself on his accumulation of silverware and while even an FA Cup was not enough for Van Gaal to keep hold of his job, for Mourinho, this could be the momentum builder ahead of his third and crucial campaign.

For Pochettino, it has been four years of laying the foundation at Spurs which he has done rather remarkably on a relatively lesser budget. But the time has come for the Argentine to reap the harvest now in North London. Under Pochettino, Spurs have now become a young and powerful side who could beat anyone on their day with a strong and attractive identity – not to mention, powered by an English core.

They are one of the best sides in the country and have arguably the most balanced 11 in the league but with nothing to show for in terms of silverware, they are doing themselves no favours. They came close last season having lost at the same stage to Chelsea but this time ahead of moving in to the new stadium, there is no better way to embrace the what lies ahead for Spurs, by collecting a trophy for all their efforts that have enabled the transition.

TEAM NEWS
There were no new injury concerns to arise from the win on the South Coast, with only Sergio Romero expected to miss out due to an injury sustained on international duty with Argentina last month.

Spurs are set to miss left-back Danny Rose (calf) and midfielder Harry Winks (ankle). Second-choice stopper Michel Vorm has played in goal throughout their cup run, as he did last season, but no.1 Hugo Lloris was brought back for their semi-final defeat to Chelsea a year ago and Pochettino may opt to do the same this weekend.

INTERESTING NUMBERS
United have advanced to the last four of the competition for the second time in three years, impressively without conceding a goal.
24-year old Harry Kane has 37 goals and 5 assists in 43 appearances in all competitions this season.
United have played at the national stadium on 50 previous occasions, including 18 FA Cup finals, seven League Cup finals and two European Cup finals
KEY MEN COMPARISON
Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) v Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)

I’ve touched on this fascinating comparison briefly week ago – which is likely to be the key battle in the Summer for England and probably the most important issue that Southgate needs to address.

If there is a way to fit in both Alli and Lingard into the England team, he should, But conventional wisdom suggests they are more similar in the way they operate in the final third – the quick ‘give and go’ with an eye on a forward run on the shoulder of the last defender and the random but well executed attempts from 18 yards that have produced some eye-catching goals in recent months, years. Lingard has made it a habit of scoring in big games, particularly in the domestic cup competitions where he comes to the fore for United. It will be interesting to see if it will be Alli this time, taking on the mantle.

PREDICTION
David De Gea will be the difference, once again.

Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

early riser play, as there is some reverse going on here & it should continue

SOC [201986] EIBAR +116

YTD
45-31-6 +36.58

359532922
SOC VfB Stuttgart DRAW +231

359532923
SOC Bayern Munich -1.25 -105

359532924
SOC Hamburger SV DRAW +233

359532925
SOC RB Leipzig +118

359532926
SOC Borussia Dortmund DRAW +264

glta