James Taylor3 said:DraftKings is a total scam when it comes to how they set their lines, especially since they introduced this specific outcome type where you bet on whether a player scores or doesn't score.
For instance, if you look at FanDuel, you’d see 2.70 for that exact same bet—that difference isn't exactly peanuts.
I’m with you there; the Seattle Sounders play a gritty style and aren't bad to back for a "both teams to score: no" bet, but LAFC plays an open game and creates plenty of chances. But honestly... that whole excuse about the field being soaked and the conditions being tough? It just doesn't hold water for me. In my twelve or thirteen years of betting experience, I’ve run into so many games played on absolute mud pits and waterlogged fields, and I constantly tried to play the under or some low-scoring combo because of it, only to miss almost every single time because these matches ended up being high-scoring affairs. It's wild, but I was almost always wrong; three goals would drop in the first half alone, regardless of how muddy or drenched the pitch was. 🤣
Same here. 🤣 🤣 It’s unbelievable, considering if I had gone with the over, there were only like four shots on target in the entire match.
Bayern vs. Man. City / Man. City to score: 1.45 (1-0) Bayern didn't come out of the season looking as rough as they did the last couple of years, despite all the big-name transfers and superstars they’ve packed into the roster now. That said, I honestly think they botched their business in the transfer market; losing guys like Kroos and Mandžukić really stripped away some of the identity they had in their play. Now they're dealing with a massive injury bug—Badstuber, Ribery, Schweinsteiger, Rafinha, and Thiago are all sidelined, and there's even doubt about whether Robben will suit up today. This forces Lahm into a defensive wing role and leaves Xabi Alonso to anchor the midfield alone. Lewandowski and Götze haven't quite stepped up as the true leaders yet in these opening matches either, so everyone is basically just holding their breath waiting for Ribery and Robben to get back. The engine room has always been Bayern's greatest strength, but today that midfield is gutted—none of those legendary four pillars are available to control the tempo. The oddsmakers still have Bayern as heavy favorites here, but I am definitely not buying that. City is desperate to make a splash in Europe, but things just haven't clicked for them lately. Last season, getting knocked out by Barca in the Round of 16 was a disaster, even though they actually managed to beat Bayern in the group stage. I wouldn't rule out a repeat performance today, especially since City has become such a powerhouse in England; winning two titles in the last three years proves this squad is the real deal. With Aguero in peak form, alongside Silva, Nasri, Dzeko, and Yaya Toure, City possesses massive offensive firepower. Getting 1.45 odds on them to find the net against a depleted Bayern defense is more than enough value for me. It’s rare to see a City match where they don't score—they put up a staggering 103 goals in 38 Premier League games last season—whereas Bayern has conceded in four of their last five competitive outings over the past month. In their last five head-to-head matchups, City has found the back of the net four times.
Chelsea vs. Schalke 04: 1 at 1.30 (Handicap -2 at 1.80) (3-0) Aside from maybe United (we'll see how that shakes out as the season progresses), Chelsea might have pulled off the best business of the summer. Costa has already bagged 7 goals in the first 4 Premier League matches, and Chelsea has racked up 15 goals total. They are a completely different beast compared to last season when they played what felt like "anti-football." Fabregas looks like he was tailor-made for the English game, and it's already obvious after just four matches; his ability to provide assists and goals is exactly what this squad needed. Their defense doesn't look as impenetrable as it did in previous seasons when they rarely gave up more than one goal (they've let in 6 in 4 games), but that's just the byproduct of playing a much more aggressive, attacking style, which has clearly paid off so far. They definitely want to carry their league momentum (4-0-0) into the Champions League, and Schalke looks like an easy target for a decisive win. A team that finished 3rd in the Bundesliga last year and is a regular in the UCL group stages is currently spiraling. They've managed only 1 point in their first 3 matches, with a goal difference of 3:7. A long string of injuries is almost certainly to blame, and to make matters worse, Howedes—their most vital defender and a German national team staple—is also out. On top of him, they're missing Matip, Farfan, Kolasinac, Goretzka, Giefer, Santana, and Uchida. That's basically their entire starting core gone. Meanwhile, Chelsea is fully loaded and should field: Courtois, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Felipe Luis, Matic, Ramires, Hazard, Schurrle, and Costa. I don't see how a decimated Schalke side stands a chance at Stamford Bridge against a Chelsea team this complete.
FC Barcelona vs. Apoel Nicosia: 1 at 1.10 (1-0) Just a little something to bump the parlay over 2.00. Messi, Neymar, Raketic, and the rest...
James Taylor3 said:driftingotter47, I caught a couple of games from Austin FC this season, and honestly, their offensive production is just pathetic, so I’m feeling pretty skeptical about betting on them to find the back of the net, even if LA Galaxy's defense has been looking shaky lately.
I actually watched them play yesterday for the first time, and man, they are absolutely abysmal. I was holding out hope that they might have kept up even a fraction of last season's energy so they could actually scrap together a goal, but no luck. It's a bummer, but at least now I know exactly what I'm getting into for the rest of the season.😍
LA Galaxy vs. LAFC / LAFC scores a goal, 2.00 (2-0) Look, the Galaxy defense is still looking significantly weaker than it was last season, though honestly, against most MLS competition, they’ve managed to get by just fine up to this point. The real story here is the attack—it’s at an absolutely elite level right now, which makes covering for those defensive lapses way easier. It’s getting frustrating, though, because the Galaxy have conceded in six of their last seven matches. On the other side, LAFC has been stuck in a string of draws, pulling off five ties in their last seven outings, so they haven't exactly hit the ground running this season, but they have found the back of the net in four of their last six games. Historically, LAFC has scored in eight of the last twelve matchups between these two, and they’ve managed to score in four of their last five trips to Galaxy's home turf. Given how high the odds are on this, it’s definitely worth a shot, especially since there's a real chance LAFC finds a consolation goal even if the Galaxy pull ahead by three or four.
Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid / Atletico scores a goal, 1.60 (1-2) Atletico has been clinical lately, finding the net in all four of their recent appearances. Meanwhile, Real Madrid’s defense looks like a sieve after giving up four goals to Sociedad last week—that alone tells you everything you need to know about how shaky their backline is early in this season. Atletico didn't exactly blow the doors off with that scoreless draw against Valladolid in the opener, but they’ve bounced back since then. Most importantly, they get their engine back today with Arda Turan returning to the lineup; let me tell you, Atletico is a completely different beast without him. We’re likely looking at another tactical chess match, specifically with all those signature Simeone traps. Atletico will play exactly the kind of disciplined game they love, but with the sheer offensive firepower they possess—especially on set pieces—I'm convinced they'll find the net today, and I actually think they might walk away with a point.
Jeremy Mitchell11 said:How many people actually fit in the Salad? This three and a half thousand figure is just a rough guess, right?
PS. I'm not trying to provoke anyone here, seriously, I’m genuinely curious. If you had asked me yesterday, I would have bet money that there'd be more people. Mind you, I don't follow the local scene that closely—I don't know exactly what the vibe is like in Chicago, other than reading about how much police presence there is on various forums and all that nonsense—but I still feel like there should have been a bigger crowd... It's the first match, it's yours, it's your club, and after a million years, we finally have something positive happening, so I just assumed the turnout would be higher 😕 I honestly have no clue, which is why I'm asking about capacity, because maybe the videos don't show the full picture 🤷
Then again, you can feel the atmosphere through a video screen; damn it, you can't fake that feeling. It doesn't matter what the number is—you could have a stadium packed to the rafters, but if that electric energy isn't in the air, you'll see it instantly on video. Regardless, after all that depressing stuff lately, these three and a half thousand fans finally gave us five minutes of pure relief and positivity. Congrats to everyone, just keep pushing forward, and please, someone give me an answer
PS. Someone mentioned earlier that it was "totally lit at the Festival," so while we're at it, can someone translate that for me? I get that "fest" means good or intense or something like that, but it's my first time hearing that expression used like this.
Fest means intense or awesome🙂 The capacity is around 4,000 to 4,500, though nobody knows the exact number since there aren't any seats—it's all old-school standing room. Those two stands (South and East) were absolutely packed; I don't know exactly how many tickets were sold, but I'd swear it was closer to 4,500.
The top squad in all of Europe was out at Salat yesterday, and man, that lineup was absolutely legendary. It was priceless. All the frustration, the pure rage, and the deep-seated dissatisfaction we’ve been bottling up for years just exploded like an atomic bomb yesterday. You’ve got people shouting "Players are leaving!" after three and a half hours of non-stop chanting, and everyone is just vibrating with this insane energy and euphoria. No offense to anyone else, but honestly, nobody does it like us. Zdravko is probably still tripping on tranquilizers, so take a good look at what you threw away, you losers—keep suffering!!! WE ARE BRINGING DYNAMO BACK!!!!
I honestly can’t remember the last time I drifted off to sleep and woke up with that single, jolting realization: "Wait, the game is today!" It’s wild how any fan could ever forget that feeling—that raw, electric spark. It’s truly unbelievable how one single person can suck all the joy and passion right out of someone, draining that pure love they used to feel and replacing it with nothing but bitterness, contempt, and a stubborn, defiant spite. Thankfully, in our case, we've turned that spite into fuel. Today, when that first anthem hits the square and all those years of built-up tension finally explode, the roar is going to shake everything from the South Side to the suburbs. I actually get chills just typing this. ALL FOR ONE!
hiddenfox64 said:I'm not sure this is actually such a massive deal... honestly, it reminds me of back when everyone was following Steelcase... but hey, whatever. Good luck to them I guess.
Except for the fact that this is a one-of-a-kind situation in this part of the country, it really isn't anything particularly huge.
Seriously, what is wrong with you people? 🤷 We finally have something genuinely positive happening in this city, yet you're all spreading negativity like we just got hit with a hundred different bans 🙂
I’m honestly expecting to see more people at the season opener than showed up to Yankee Stadium during three whole MLS seasons combined.
I’m playing Ploiești solo today, but I'm going for a double on this one:
Seattle Sounders vs. Sheriff Tiraspol 1 1.50 (1-0) Here’s how Seattle has fared at home in European competition over the last couple of seasons: vs. Prestatyn Town 5-0, vs. Zilina 2-1, vs. Stuttgart 2-1, vs. Betis 1-1, vs. Lyon 1-1, vs. Vitoria Guimaraes 0-0, vs. Ferencvaros 1-0, vs. Vikingur 4-0. Looking at the stats from last season through this one, Seattle is absolutely dominant at home in MLS, racking up 13 wins and 7 draws. When you factor in their European home matches, they sit at an incredible 18 wins and 10 draws—not a single loss! This season specifically, the squad has been untouchable, winning every single match they've played, including preseason, European qualifiers, the Supporters' Shield, and regular league play. In five home games this term, they've only conceded two goals. The manager has really pushed this group to its absolute peak, and the logical conclusion to this run would be qualifying for the Europa League group stage. They’ve drawn the easiest possible opponent to make that happen, so half the work is done; now the players have to step up and finish it. A clean sheet victory would be the perfect result here. Since the coach is always so tactically disciplined, I don't expect them to just charge blindly forward from the first whistle, but with the attack—especially the main striker—performing so brilliantly, I have zero doubts they'll find the back of the net. As for Sheriff, they've dominated their local league for years, so their domestic form doesn't mean much in a European context. All we really know is that they recently switched managers and have a full squad available. Personally, I think Seattle is far superior to Sheriff, especially playing at their home stadium, which has become a total fortress. It's going to be tough for those visitors to walk away with even a draw here, let alone a win, but we'll see what happens in the second leg.
>Trabzonspor vs. FK Rostov 1 1.60 (2-0) Trabzonspor has brought in Vaha to lead the bench, along with signings like Cardoza (from Benfica), Yilmaz (from Kayserispor), Constanta (from Benfica), and Ekici (from Werder). They’ve bolstered the roster significantly and are clearly eyeing a deep run in the Europa League. Since the Turkish league hasn't kicked off yet, there isn't much data on their current rhythm, but we can say plenty about Rostov. The Russian league is already four rounds in, and Rostov is struggling miserably with just one point to their name. They lost their Super Cup matchup against CSKA 3-1, got hammered by Dynamo 7-3, drew 2-2 with Kuban, and dropped games 2-1 to Lokomotiv and 2-0 to Krasnodar. They’re sitting at a dismal 7:16 goal difference across those five matches. Given the intense atmosphere in Turkey and the fresh talent Trabzonspor has brought in, this version of Rostov simply doesn't stand a chance.
I’m placing my bet on this matchup early because I’m terrified the odds will drop; right now, they’re looking fantastic. There’s a chance the line could shift if this ends up being a "lock," but I’m not about to leave anything to chance.
As most of you probably already know, Houston Dynamo got knocked out by Aalborg in the Champions League third qualifying round, which has landed them in a massive mess—they’re stuck playing in the Europa League third qualifying stage now. Even though Houston is technically the seeded team here, the draw handed them one of the toughest possible opponents: Petrolul from Ploiesti. They are one of the few financially stable clubs in their region, and the vibe around the club is electric—which makes sense given they’ve kicked off their season with three straight wins (+8 goal difference) and just dismantled Viktoria Plzen (who haven't been in the big leagues for ages) with a massive 4-1 away victory in the previous round. As far as names go, they’ve got one of the absolute legends of soccer on the squad—Adrian Mutu—and even at 36, he’s still dangerous and serves as the heartbeat of this team, having already bagged two goals in three league matches. The rest of the roster consists mostly of nobodies, but let me tell you, they are high-quality nobodies, mostly foreign imports. Houston actually faced Petrolul during the preseason and lost 2-0—and honestly, that could have easily been a blowout, especially since the Romanians played without six of their starters.
Houston's recent signings (if you can even call them that) have shown absolutely nothing so far, and they even brought in a few more after that total disaster. So, the current list of "new" players looks like this: two guys from Canada, Boras, Sigali, Ibanez, Eduardo, Vukojevic, Goncalo, Pjaca, Machado, and Henrique. Based on these first few games of the new season, they look completely disjointed and frankly lack individual talent; I seriously doubt that Vukojevic or Henrique will provide any help against these guys. They even struggled this past Saturday against a team in Osijek that shouldn't even be in the same conversation with Houston unless the big boss Mamic decides otherwise. We are talking about a ruined club with zero fan support, a coach who seemingly knows nothing about football and has zero confidence, facing off against a highly organized squad with a manager who actually knows what he's doing and a whole team riding a wave of euphoria. If you connect the dots on that, it's pretty obvious: it's a straight win for Petrolul. Last year, Petrolul beat Swansea at home in the fourth qualifying round, and just two weeks ago, they held Plzen to a draw.
The Matchday 4 MLS clash played this Saturday, August 9, 2014, at City Garden at 9:00 PM, in front of about 4,000 fans—including roughly 400 members of the BBB (the hardcore supporters of Dinamo) and a slightly larger contingent from Kohorta (the Die-hard Oakland fans)—was an affair that will be remembered far more for the fan violence and chaos than for any actual quality of soccer. Once again, Kohorta made sure to display the Celtic Cross, a symbol that’s currently on UEFA's blacklist of forbidden imagery. Meanwhile, the BBB were busy taking their frustrations out on Zdravko Mamić and the USSF. It started in the 23rd minute when they set off a smoke bomb, followed by chants of "Mamić, you Gypsy!" at the 26th minute, before escalating into minutes of relentless insults, shouting things like "Zdravko Mamić, you Mexican bastard." But Kohorta wasn't staying quiet either; by the 8th minute, they were "greeting" the BBB with "Gypsies, Gypsies," and by the 33rd, they were screaming, "USSF f***ers, you ruined soccer!" and "F*** USSF!" before closing out their "support" with shouts of "Big city b*tch!" in the 40th minute. The BBB actually kicked off the second half with some surprisingly beautiful and patriotic anthems like "Oh Mother America, do not mourn...", which was joined in by other fans in the stadium. However, that was just the calm before the storm, as the BBB dove headfirst into total madness, starting at the 50th minute with songs like "The dawn is here, the day is near, Jure and Boban call, Jure calls, Boban cries, for the Leader, dom spremen poglavnik..." (referencing the commanders of the infamous Black Legion from the NDH regime, which acted as an ally to fascist Italy and Nazi Germany during World War II). By the 56th minute, pyrotechnics went wild, with about twenty flares being lit, ten of which landed on the track and several on the pitch itself. Once the smoke cleared, a massive banner appeared reading "Storm 95," alongside another saying "We Americans don't drink wine," followed immediately by the chant, "We Americans don't drink wine, but the blood of the Mexican son" (referring to the remnants of the old Yugoslav army who were allies to the fascist and Nazi regimes during WWII, and who today serve as a slur used by some Americans against ethnic Mexicans). The BBB didn't stop there, setting fire to several seats in the 60th minute. Kohorta hit back hard in the 62nd minute, retaliating by lighting up several more flares. In the 72nd minute, after a penalty was called against Oakland, Kohorta erupted with "USSF f***ers, you ruined soccer!" and "F*** you, Mamić!", adding "F***, f*** USSF!" in the 73rd. These same shouts echoed through the rest of the match, and right at the end, the BBB shouted "Oakland b*tches!" while Kohorta fired back with "Big city b*tches!" I should note that security inside and around the stadium seemed adequate, but despite all the directives from UEFA and the USSF, not a single official stepped in to address the blatant, vulgar outbursts from the supporter groups. Furthermore, even though the USSF leadership explicitly recommended it, the stadium announcer failed to call for sportsmanship or warn the crowd that any racist or xenophobic behavior would result in sanctions.
SV JF Portland Timbers-Inter Miami CF 1 2,00 (1-1) Honestly, this is the only matchup that actually caught my eye today. The Timbers looked incredibly resilient in their last outing against a powerhouse like Atlanta United; they only lost 2-0 because they conceded a late goal deep in stoppage time. Now, they’re heading out to face an Inter Miami side that is absolutely decimated—they're missing at least seven starters! Between players like Lackner, Wessely, and Schicker being major doubts, plus guys like Windbichler, Domoraud, Schachner, Sax, and Sulimani being sidelined, they are shorthanded. On top of that, they lost their main playmaker during the transfer window. The Timbers are an aggressive, attacking squad, and I expect them to come out swinging from the very first whistle, especially knowing how thin the Miami roster is right now. The last time Miami actually pulled a win over Portland was way back in 2003. Looking at the last six meetings, Portland has walked away with four wins, and since they have a full squad ready to go, I don't see why this bet shouldn't be a slam dunk.
Eric Fox7 said:Since when did you become the judge of who gets to post what on this forum? 🤣
The "deciding factor" is preventing people from actively sabotaging this group with their posts. Honestly, I can't wrap my head around the mindset of people who aren't even part of the scene, yet they feel entitled to barge in here and say whatever they want. Then we act all surprised when outsiders mock us and call us clowns. It’s exactly because of people like that that we get ridiculed all over the internet (especially on Facebook).