Austin vs St. Louis Prediction, Match Preview, Live Stream, Odds and Picks
Visitors Are Latest MLS Expansion Team
No time to waste! St. Louis FC will make its MLS debut on Saturday against one of the top three scoring teams in the previous season. Austin FC is highly motivated after reaching the Western Conference final in only its second year in the league, which explains why the club is heavily favored in the MLS odds and soccer betting.
Austin FC: Great Improvement
In 2021, Austin FC finished 12th in the Western Conference with 31 points. One year later, the club finished second, thanks to a 25-point improvement, tying for the largest point gain by a team from its first to its second season. Still, Austin FC is not among the favorites to dethrone Los Angeles FC, but don’t underestimate it.
The best news for all Austin’s fans is that Sebastian Driussi is back. The Argentinian finished the 2022 campaign with 22 goals, one off from Hany Mukhtar from Columbus Crew, who won the Golden Boot and the Most Valuable Player award last season.
Austin FC truly wants to take the next step. That’s why it spared no expense during the off-season, signing Emiliano Rigoni, who used to play for Sao Paulo in the Brazilian Serie A, and Leo Vaisanen, who used to play for Elfsborg in Sweden’s top division. But that’s not all; it also signed veteran Gyasi Zardes on a free transfer. He and Driussi have the potential to become the league’s best-attacking duo.
The home side is offering a -190 price in the sportsbook to win straight up. Considering Austin FC only lost two of its last 10 home games, scoring in all those matches, that’s a great deal.
St. Louis City: Experience at Its Disposal
Being a new team doesn’t have to imply a lack of experienced players. St. Louis City will be led by goalkeeper Roman Burki, who played the last seven seasons for Borussia Dortmund, one of Germany’s powerhouses.
Regarding the attacking unit, Joao Klauss will be leading the way. He played for teams such as Hoffenheim, LASK and Standard Liege. Klauss scored in the last preseason game, which St. Louis lost 2-1 to Atlanta United.
Klauss and company have a tough task, though. Only one of the four teams to join the league since 2020 was able to find the back of the net in its first match, while only Los Angeles FC scored more than once in its inaugural match.
St. Louis didn’t win any of its preseason games, but it put up a good fight against powerhouses such as Philadelphia Union (2-2) and New York City FC (3-3), scoring in four matches and finishing with a clean sheet once.
St. Louis comes in as the betting online underdog, thanks to a +525 price. Not bad for an expansion team.
Austin vs St. Louis Match Information
- Match: Austin vs St. Louis
- Date/time: Saturday, Feb. 25, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Q2 Stadium, Texas
- Austin FC vs St. Louis City Live Stream: fubo.tv
Austin vs St. Louis Betting Lines
Austin vs St. Louis Picks and Prediction
Obviously, these two have never met. Nevertheless, Austin FC does have some experience facing expansion teams in their first season. It defeated Charlotte FC 1-0 in 2022, with Daniel Pereira as the scorer. I think Austin will get its second victory against an expansion team, but not without a fight; that’s why my recommendation is to include the over in your MLS picks. After all, the visitors have the element of surprise on their side.
The Austin is listed at -190 in our Vegas MLS lines. This means that if you wager $100 on Austin, you have a chance to win $53. ST. Louis is +525, offering a chance to win $525 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Austin a 65.52% chance to win, with ST. Louis at 16.00%.
