Inter Miami claimed their maiden MLS Cup trophy, with Lionel Messi leading the charge with 29 goals and being named the Best Player.
The Philadelphia Union won their second Supporters' Shield, while the Vancouver Whitecaps' Yohei Takaoka was named Best Goalkeeper after keeping 13 clean sheets.
Other key stats for last season included:
- Biggest home wins were 7-0 (NYRB vs LA Galaxy and Vancouver vs Philadelphia)
- Biggest away win was 1-7 (Chicago beat DC United)
- Highest scoring games involved nine goals (Nashville 7-2 Chicago, and Atlanta 4-5 Columbus)
- Charlotte had the longest run with winning (nine games)
- Orlando and Nashville shared a win streak of 12 games
- LA Galaxy didn't win for 16 straight games, going on a five-game losing streak three times.
Still, that's all in the past. With numerous personnel changes (staff and players) having occurred, the 2026 MLS season will begin, and teams will want to start in the best possible way…
MLS Matchweek 1 Betting Preview
The upcoming fixtures are scheduled to take place this coming weekend:
- St Louis vs Charlotte - Sunday, 06:30 AEDT
- Cincinnati vs Atlanta United - Sunday, 08:45 AEDT
- Orlando City vs NYRB - Sunday, 11:30 AEDT
- DC United vs Philadelphia - Sunday, 11:30 AEDT
- Vancouver vs Real Salt Lake - Sunday, 11:30 AEDT
- Austin vs Minnesota - Sunday, 12:30 AEDT
- FC Dallas vs Toronto - Sunday, 12:30 AEDT
- Houston vs Chicago - Sunday, 12:30 AEDT
- Nashville vs New England - Sunday, 12:30 AEDT
- LAFC vs Inter Miami - Sunday, 13:30 AEDT
- San Jose vs Sporting KC - Sunday, 14:30 AEDT
- Portland vs Columbus - Sunday, 14:30 AEDT
- San Diego vs Montreal - Sunday, 14:30 AEDT
- LA Galaxy vs NYCFC - Monday, 11:00 AEDT
- Seattle vs Colorado - Monday, 13:15 AEDT
MLS Matchweek 1 Betting Predictions
At Sportsbet, you can wager on the latest MLS betting odds available in our dedicated soccer betting section, with plenty of value to be found.
In the LAFC vs Inter Miami match, we think there's value in a Miami win, which is perceived as having an outside chance. The last time they met in LA in the MLS, Miami won (Sept. 2023) 3-1. Lionel Messi didn't score that time, but with 29 goals last year, we think he's worth value as an anytime goalscorer.
The LA Galaxy vs NYCFC match odds also offer potential value worth exploring. Galaxy were shocking last season, going on a 10-game winless streak to begin the campaign and setting the worst record for a defending MLS Cup champion.
They've kept the same personnel this year and have a positive H2H record against NYCFC. Still, we think the visitors are likely to get the win, as LA's struggles will likely continue, despite improving toward the back-end of the campaign. NYCFC stumbled toward the end, but had a solid year throughout.