(6) Portland Timbers (3-3-2, 11 points) vs (2) Seattle Sounders (4-1-3, 15 points)
September 6, 2020 7:30 PM PST/ 10:30 PM EST
Century Link Field, Seattle, Washington
Week 10
Portland Timbers Briefly
A must win situation for the Portland Timbers this coming Sunday at CenturyLink Park.
Once again,Timbers manager Giovanni Savarese is looking forward to seeing his side deliver a much-needed upset. Maybe this time they can earn that elusive first win since the MLS is Back Tournament that can uplift the spirits of his team.
However, the outlook for the Rose City side looks a bit grim and not promising after the team so far in three games has allowed ten goals and seeing a feeble defensive backfield collapsing in its last three games.
Still, for a team that never quits, the main question is to address its defensive game. How can find the answers that were not present in the past game against the LA Galaxy?
As we are seeing some notable players returning from the injured list, with Yimmi Chara being back in the lineup and completing the creative midfield trio with Sebastian Blanco and Diego Valeri, which will bolster this team’s attack.
It is not panic time for Savarese, but he knows with patience things can return to normal and maybe his team can start getting some much-needed wins that can put them in the postseason.
Something that became a catalyst to team morale was the achievement by El Maestro Diego Valeri in the game against LA after scoring his 80th goal and with his 80th assist which puts him third all time in MLS behind Landon Donovan and Jaime Moreno.
Probable Lineup:
GK Steve Clark, Chris Duvall, Larry’s Mabiala, Dario Zuparic, Jorge Villafaña; Diego Chara, Eryk Williamson; Sebastian Blanco, Diego Valeri, Yimmi Chara; Jeremy Ebobisse
Seattle Sounder Briefly
The Rave Green are currently enjoying a good run after back-to-back wins over its most hated archrivals in the Portland Timbers and LAFC.
Then, they playeed Real Salt Lake on the road at Rio Tinto Stadium and wound up with a 2-2- draw, something that did not went very well for its manager Brian Schmetzer.
Despite many having doubts of this team defense before the start of the regular season, the Sounders have managed to overcome those doubts with the third stingiest defense in MLS.
Now with Part II of the Cascadia Derby to be played on Sunday, this time at home in Century Link Field, their archrivals the Portland Timbers seen as underdogs, but records are meaningless in this rivalry.
Can the Green and Gold somehow can deliver an upset as their hunger to obtain their first win since the MLS is Back Tournament? We will see on Sunday night.
Probable Lineup:
GK Stefan Frei, Kelvin Leerdam, Yelmar Gomez, Shane O’ Neill, Joevin Jones; Joao Paulo, Gustav Svensson; Cristian Roldan, Nicolas Lodeiro, Jordan Morris; Raul Ruidiaz
Meetings
August 23, 2020: Portland Timbers 0-3 Seattle Sounders
August 23, 2019: Portland Timbers 0-1 Seattle Sounders
July 21, 2019: Seattle Sounders 1-2 Portland Timbers
Forecast
Seattle Sounders come as overall favorites but maybe the Timbers have a steal a point away from home.
