The Portland Timbers remain winless through three games, while the defending Cascadia Cup champions Vancouver Whitecaps currently sit third in the Western Conference behind FC Dallas and the San Jose Earthquakes. On Saturday night the rivals will continue their campaigns for a playoff spot, with an added bonus of fighting for the Cascadia Cup, a cup competition between Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle.
Portland struggled with Sporting Kansas City last week as the two teams settled for a scoreless draw, disappointing for both sides. Timbers head coach Caleb Porter put out the same lineup that nearly stole three points from the LA Galaxy in the week prior, but against SKC the players looked lackluster. Portland can't be too upset with a point on the road, but they're still searching for their first win of the season. Check out the highlights from last week below.
The lineup will likely remain unchanged for the Portland Timbers. They're one of the few clubs in MLS to remain relatively unphased by international callups this week. Porter has been known to change his lineup unexpectedly, so a change is not out of the question. The most likely of changes to the Timbers lineup would occur in the midfield, probably Gaston Fernandez starting in place of Dairon Asprilla.
The Vancouver Whitecaps will not be so consistent in their lineup. Christan Dean and Russell Tiebert, and Darren Mattocks have been called up by their respective national teams; Kekuta Manneh and Diego Rodriguez are currently serving their suspensions handed out by the MLS disciplinary committee. The Whitecaps have even lost veteran midfielder Mauro Rosales to a right ankle sprain.
The matchup to watch is between the two forwards. Caleb Porter favors Fanendo Adi as striker ahead of Maxi Urruti, but the always dangerous Urruti is always on Adi's heels for the starting spot. Urruti was top of the league in goals per 90 minutes last season. Octavio Rivero will be the lone man up top for the Whitecaps and will likely go a full 90 with the absence of Manneh and Mattocks. Rivero has been one of the league's most exciting new players so far this year. He currently shares the top of the MLS goalscoring chart with Clint Dempsey and Blas Perez at three goals.
The Timbers will try to use their speed and their recent form against the 'Caps to their advantage. In the last two matches between these teams, the Timbers have won both, home and away, each time with a score of 3-0. The first of these two matches was at BC Place in Vancouver, where Saturday's match will be played.