MLS Western Conference Futures (2024 Season)

The MLS is BACK for 2024 with the start of the season kicking off between Inter Miami and Real Salt Lake City on Wednesday, February 21, and the rest of the league kicking off matchday 1 between the following Saturday and Sunday. Columbus Crew are the defending champions of the MLS Cup from last season, but there is still an entire regular season to be played this year before playoffs are anywhere near so it is time to see who has the best chance of taking home the number 1 seed in the Western Conference this season. 

Los Angeles FC +300: LA FC is coming into the 2024 season as the team with the best chance at winning the Western Conference this year, according to the oddsmakers. LA FC finished last season with 52 points from a 14-10-10 record which landed them in 3rd place of the Western Conference and 8th place overall in the MLS. LA FC has been a dominant team in the MLS over the last few years with multiple MLS Cups and they even made it back to the final last year, losing to Columbus. They have been on the decline though as seen last season in their regular season performance and now the big story for them this season is how they are going to replace their star forward Carlos Vela who left the club in the winter. The Carlos Vela departure signifies the end of a dominant era for LA FC in the MLS and this very well could be the end of what has been considered a dynasty club in the MLS the past few years. Vela is not the only player to have departed after last season as they also lost key pieces on defense and in the midfield as well. Kellyn Acosta has been a key piece in their midfield that is gone now and they also lost some key defenders in Diego Palacios who moved on to Corinthians in Brasil as well as losing Giorgio Chiellini who retired. They still have a lot of talent but this team is nothing like it used to be and this season is going to see a lot of those players that were bench depth last year now being thrusted into a starting role. This is also a team that has become bored in the MLS with their recent dominance as was evident in their performance last year after losing in the CONCACAF Champions League final. LA FC lost a lot of talent from last season and they may be a great team still, but this is going to be a big transitioning year for them with new players in the lineup and they are simply not the best team in the Western Conference this season. With all the ongoing changes in LA, there is no real value at this price for LA FC to win the Western Conference this season. 

Seattle Sounders FC +500: Seattle is coming into the 2024 season as the next team on the list with the best chance at winning the Western Conference this year, according to the oddsmakers. Seattle finished last season with 53 points from a 14-11-9 record which landed them in 2nd place of the Western Conference and 7th place overall in the MLS. Seattle has had some up and down years in the MLS over the last decade but overall, they have been a very dominant club in the MLS in recent years. They had a great season last year and made yet another playoff run, eventually losing 1-0 to LA FC who went on to the finals and lost, but they also had the best defense in the league last year along with Nashville as Seattle only allowed 32 goals in their 34 regular season matches. Their attack was not as potent as some of the other strong teams in the MLS which did hold them back a bit, but they have injected some youth into their attack for this season while also retaining the starters they had last year. They are going to be a much deeper team on the attack this season and they were also able to bring back all of their key starters on defense and in the midfield. Their performance last year was just a stepping stone to this season as they had a down year in 2022 but have built the squad back much stronger over the last 2 years. They leaned on their great defense a lot last season to get results but that defense will continue to perform into this year as their attack improves around them as well which makes them the most dangerous team in the Western Conference coming into this season. Seattle has been a very decorated team in the MLS in recent years and they now have the defense as well as the youth in their squad to be a real threat this season. They also sense the blood in the water with LA FC on the decline and they will be pushing to take back the league with a dominant regular season campaign this year. There is a lot of value in Seattle at this price to win the Western Conference this season. 

Houston Dynamo +650: Houston is coming into the 2024 season as the next team on the list with the best chance at winning the Western Conference this year, according to the oddsmakers. Houston finished last season with 51 points from a 14-9-11 record which landed them in 4th place of the Western Conference and 9th place overall in the MLS. Houston was able to have such a great regular season last year due to their home dominance as they had the best home record in the Western Conference, going 11-4-2 there while scoring 36 goals in their 17 matches and allowing just 11 goals. On the other hand, they were one of the worst away teams in the Western Conference as they were 3-5-9, scoring just 15 goals in those 17 matches while allowing 27 goals. Houston’s away form is going to be a big problem when it comes to winning the Western Conference as they are too inconsistent away from home to collect enough points to keep them in this race. They were not very active in the winter transfer window either despite losing a key piece in Corey Baird who was 2nd on the team in goals scored last season with 9. Houston does not have a very talented lineup either and they do not match up well against the better teams in the MLS. Their home dominance will likely continue this season and will be enough to get them a playoff spot, but they are too inconsistent away from home to be any threat towards winning the Western Conference this season. There is no real value in Houston at this price. 

Los Angeles Galaxy +700: LA Galaxy is coming into the 2024 season as the next team on the list with the best chance at winning the Western Conference this year, according to the oddsmakers. LA Galaxy finished last season with 36 points from an 8-12-14 record which landed them in 13th place in the Western Conference and 26th place overall in the MLS. The Galaxy have been a struggling team in the MLS over the last few seasons after having so many years of dominance in the league. They were one of the worst teams in the MLS last season and they have not really done much to improve their team anymore for this season. They were an active team in the winter transfer window but did not acquire any players who are going to make an immediate impact in the squad. They are going to show some improvement this season and they have the potential to be a playoff team in one of the lower seeds, but this team still needs time to show great improvement and they are not going to come out of the gate strong enough to keep themselves in this Western Conference race. There is no value in LA Galaxy at this price to win the Western Conference this season. 

St Louis City SC +1000: St Louis is coming into the 2024 season as the next team on the list with the best chance at winning the Western Conference this year, according to the oddsmakers. St Louis finished last season with 56 points from a 17-5-12 record which landed them in 1st place of the Western Conference and 4th place overall in the MLS. They had a very impressive season in the MLS last year considering how it was their 1st ever season in the MLS as an expansion team, but this is going to be a much tougher season for them. As an expansion team, St Louis does not have a very deep squad and they are going to have a much tougher time with extra matches now as they did qualify for CONCACAF Champions League. They deserve an honorable mention due to their performance in the league last season, but they will not be able to replicate that in their 2nd season, especially having an extra competition to play in now. There is no value in St Louis at this price to win the Western Conference this season. 

The MLS has been improving a lot and there are many teams this season that can be a threat to the MLS Cup with the playoff system used in the league. The regular season is a completely different animal though that highlights the consistency and the elite talent of certain teams that can keep up that kind of performance for an entire season. Any team can get hot for a few weeks once in the playoffs, but it takes a truly talented team from top to bottom to win the respective conferences in the MLS regular season. The Eastern Conference looks like it is going to be the stronger conference this season, leaving the Western Conference wide open with the strength of competition in the West, but there is only 1 team on this list that looks like it is going to be a dominant team in the league this year. Seattle at +500 has the most value to win the Western Conference this season as they are coming off of a strong season already and they are only going to improve this year as the stronger teams in the West around them start to decline.