Philadelphia Union's Alejandro Bedoya (right) and Chicago Fire's Djordje Mihailovic battle for a ball in OctoberCharles Fox (Associated Press via Philadelphia Inquirer)

BoopProps Tuesday MLS - Union vs. New England Revolution: First-half props and a special player to watch and bet

Tuesday, 8 p.m. (ESPN)

While the Eagles are clinging for dear life to first place in the NFC East (and the automatic playoff berth that goes with it), another Philadelphia team kicks off its actual postseason Tuesday night.

By the way, that Philadelphia team did finish in first place . . . First place of it’s ENTIRE LEAGUE!

So the Union will take its Supporters’ Shield Trophy and try to parlay that into an MLS Championship, beginning with a first-round match against the New England Revolution.

The Union and Revolution met five times in MLS play this season and you know what failed to happen each time? New England scoring in the first half.

Nada. Zilch. Zero. Nil.

The first three meetings were each scoreless after 45 and Philly managed a 1-0 lead at intermission in each of the last two matches.

So, we start off with three first-half wagers − New England Under 0.5 Goals, Philly ahead by 1-0 and a 0-0 deadlock.

Now, do you want to know what did happen a lot in those NE-Philly matches? Anthony Fontana happened, that’s what.

The Union midfielder from Newark, Del., tallied three times against the Revolution in 2020 and has four goals (of his career eight in MLS play) in just 169 minutes of playing time running against New England.

He may not start (he has done so just five times, all in the last nine matches) or play all 90 minutes (something he has never done in MLS competition), but he seems to find the net when it is the Revolution across the pitch. So we will load up on him to tickle the twine a time or two.

And if you are new to soccer wagering and are looking to lay some money on Fontana on any other player, make sure you shop around. The odds for goalscorers (in any category, such as first, last, any time or multiple, etc.) can vary significantly depending on the operator. For instance, we got +540 at DraftKings on Fontana to score at any point of the match Tuesday. His odds were around +200 in the other places we checked, a steep dropoff.

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New England First Half

$16/$10 . . . Under 0.5 Goal (-160 FD)

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First Half Score

$10/$32 . . . 1-0 Union (+320 DK)

$5/$12.25 . . 0-0 Tied (+245 DK)

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Anthony Fontana Goals

$10/$54 . . . Any Time (+540 DK)

$1/$55 . . . Two or more (+5500 DK)

$1/$90 . . . Three or more (+9000 WH)