The Portland Timbers will look to carry momentum to Canada when they take on Toronto FC this Saturday at BMO Field. Both teams are following 3-0 victories against Western Conference opponents to stay within the MLS playoff race. The two teams meet for the first and only time this year in the midst of a tight playoff race in opposite conferences. Check out the highlights below from the last time these two teams met, when the Portland Timbers put four goals past Milos Kocic last season.
The Timbers are on a short week of rest after thrashing Alpha United 6-0 at home on Tuesday. Coach Caleb Porter rested his regular starters in what proved to be an easy affair for his side. Norberto Paparatto netted two goals after Jack Jewsbury opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Jewsbury gave the captain's armband to Rodney Wallace when they were subbed for each other in the 62nd minute.
With Porter all in on making the playoffs, the squad is unlikely to change from the last MLS game, a 3-0 victory against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Jorge Villafana and Alvas Powell combined for their 4th consecutive start together in that game; the first game was also a 3-0 victory against the Whitecaps. Porter first made the change to counter the speed of Darren Mattocks and Kekuta Manneh, and hasn't looked back. It's been the same story for centerback Pa Kah. If Kah starts against Toronto, it will be his 5th consecutive game in the starting XI. Kah started the year at centerback for the Timbers, but like most defenders had to surrender his spot in the flurry of bad defensive results for Portland.
Fanendo Adi looks to enjoy his fifth straight regular season start. The former FC Copenhagen striker has four goals to his name in the last five games, two as a starter. Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe are two others that will join Adi in the attack. Valeri now is tied with Maxi Urruti as the Timbers' leading goal scorer with nine. After providing the assist for Adi's first goal against Vancouver, Valeri climbed to second in assists in MLS with 14, sitting behind only Landon Donovan with 15. Darlington Nagbe also tallied an assist in his last MLS match to continue his career year with six assists. He had eight total in his first three seasons in MLS. These three will likely start every game until the end of the Timbers' season. They have been the hottest offense in the league and Coach Porter knows not to mess with a winning formula.
Toronto FC have been floating on rocky waters lately. Management is being shaken up and the effect is trickling down to the players. Rumors have been going around about Jermaine Defoe leaving TFC at the end of the season. In face of all of their problems, Toronto avoided disaster in their last game by defeating Chivas USA 3-0 at BMO Field with a team that didn't include Defoe in the 18 due to injury. But the disaster is far from averted as the Reds currently sit in 7th in the Eastern Conference. The Columbus Crew currently hold the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference, followed by the Philadelphia Union. Toronto does have a game in hand on both of them, but needs one point against the Timbers to tie Philadelphia, and all three to tie Columbus.
Jermaine Defoe will look to provide a much needed spark in the Toronto FC offense upon his expected return on Saturday. Before the Chivas game, Toronto was shut out in three of the previous four games, only scoring one in a tie against Chicago. The Reds will be without Jackson, who was shown a red card for fighting with Nigel Reo-Coker. This may give Dwayne De Rosario the start at midfield. This would allow Michael Bradley to push up field into the attack more which has proven to help a lagging Toronto attack.
Joe Bendik will be the keeper this Saturday and most likely for the rest of the season for Toronto. Bendik lost his spot at starting goal keeper when Julio Cesar joined the team on loan. He has played every minute since Cesar left for the World Cup and then the team altogether. After not playing in the first seven games, Bendik and the Toronto FC defense have combined for a total of four shutouts. Fans are questioning whether center-backs Steven Caldwell and Nick Hagglund can match the physical play of Adi.
Portland and Toronto have only met four times in MLS. The latest game between them ended in favor of the Timbers, 3-0. But this year's Toronto FC team is a lot better, and has their best chance at making their first ever MLS playoffs. The Timbers need to make the playoffs to avoid serious backlash to what has so far been a disappointing season. A red hot clash in ice cold Toronto may be the deciding game in either team's season.