(7) Portland Timbers (10,8,12, 42 points) vs (5) Minnesota United (13,11,5, 44 points)
Saturday, September 10, 2022 KO 7:00 PM PST/ 10:00 PM EST
Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
Portland Timbers Briefly
Suddenly, this team is on fire and coming into this match against Minnesota United, the Timbers cannot wait to extend their winning streak to four consecutive games.
However, since the Loons’ inception into Major League Soccer, they have become a tough team to beat for the Timbers, but with the momentum the Rose City side is playing lately, I can see that anything can happen.
So far, the emergence of Dairon Aspirilla in the number 9 position scoring seven goals and scoring one via penalty last Sunday alongside his countrymen Santiago Moreno, the man is really playing a one-of-a-kind game and becoming an impact player in the Timbers’ starting eleven.
Giovanni Savarese is finally seeing the fruits of his labor culminating, after using a 4-2-3-1 formation against Seattle and Austin, on the Atlanta game he shifted to a 3-4-2-1 and in the end, both became very fruitful.
Going to the Minnesota game, what formation will Gio will use to stop the Loons attack cold and see its offensive game hit a brick wall? The United side has been very dominant against the PTFC.
With a couple of games left in the season after the United game, with Columbus playing on the road, and hosting in the last match of the season a tough LAFC, every point will be precious.
With some players struggling such as Jaroslaw Niezgoda being on a scoring drought, in addition of Yimmi Chara silently alongside Sebastian Blanco along with Santi, being the leaders of the attack.
The return to the starting lineup for Eryk Williamson after his suspension due to accumulation of cards, will uplift the attack for the better and playing a great defensive game. The man is Europe material.
With the season winding down, there’s no room for error or losses for the Portland Timbers as they know that they aren’t done to assure them a spot in the postseason. The idea is to win their remaining games.
In addition of winning the remaining games and wait for results from the LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders, a win on Saturday over Minnesota United for sure will move them up the standings in the Western Conference.
Probable Lineup:
GK Aljaz Ivacic, Bill Tuiloma, Dario Zuparic, Zac McGraw; Diego Chara, Eryk Williamson, Yimmi Chara, Claudio Bravo; Santiago Moreno, Sebastian Blanco; Dairon Aspirilla
Minnesota United Briefly
For Minnesota manager Adrien Heath in this final stretch of the season, one thing he didn’t envision was the injury of his stellar player Emmanuel Reynoso and of Franco Fragapane out due to a red card in his last match.
After their last win against the Houston Dynamo back on August 27, the Loons have lost in back-to-back matches against FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake, in both matches, their losses have been clean sheets.
Somehow in this final stretch the Loons after playing Portland, they will close the season against LAFC, Sporting Kansas City, San Jos,e and Vancouver and the outlook doesn’t look too easy for the Loons.
Still, they haven’t gotten anything going in their last two matches after seeing their star play maker Emmanuel Reynoso in the injured list and so far, the team offensive drive has been definitely missing in action.
Despite being dominant against the Rose City side since their inception, Portland comes with all-time high momentum, though another loss can translate into a probable state of disarray in the end.
Probable Lineup:
GK Dayne St. Clair, Alan Benitez, Michael Boxall, Brent Kallman, DJ Taylor; Joseph Rosales, Will Trapp, Jonathan Gonzalez; Bongo Honglwane, Mender Garcia, Abu Danladi
Meetings
07/30/2022 Minnesota United 4-4 Portland Timbers
11/21/2021 Portland Timbers 3-1 Minnesota United
07/24/2021 Minnesota United 2-1 Portland Timbers
Forecast
The Portland Timbers are on a three-game winning streak, can they continue with it?
Portland Timbers
Minnesota United FC
