The Portland Timbers look to make their way back into a playoff position with a win this Sunday, August 7th, at Providence Park against Sporting Kansas City. Kick-off is scheduled for 4pm ET and the game can be viewed on ESPN and MLS Live. Sporting defeated Portland last week 1-0 in Kansas City and the Timbers, despite major injury concerns, will be jumping at the chance to take revenge.
Last Meeting
These two clubs last met just last week in Kansas City. The game's only goal came from a Jacob Peterson header in the 50th minute off of what else, but a free kick given up by the Timbers. Portland will have to watch out for the same thing this week as it's likely that they'll be using the same starting center backs of Amobi Okugo and Jermaine Taylor. Not a pairing that scares attackers from attacking or one that inspires confidence in fans. Hopefully, new signings Steven Taylor or Gbenga Oroyoko will be in the starting lineup soon. They're a pair that can help take pressure off those working back from injury. Timbers fans will just have to hope that Okugo and Taylor have the fitness to go a full 90 minutes and that the pair keeps mistakes to a minimum.
One interesting note of last week's game is that it was the first ever MLS shutout and win for Kansas City keeper Alec Kann. He came up big for SKC and denied the Timbers a few key chances on goal.
Suspensions, Injuries, and new players
This week should see new Timber Vytautas Andriuškevičius getting his first Major League Soccer start after a solid showing in Portland's last CONCACAF Champions League match against C.D. Dragón. The young left back was subbed in against Sporting last week and looked dangerous as soon as he set foot on the pitch. Having a true left foot is something that Portland has desperately needed all season. Vytas looks to be the answer and it shouldn't be long before he gets his first assist after linking up very well with the attack in his CCL match. The left back was able to open up teammate Darlington Nagbe to cut inside and take players one-on-one several times. He also performed this beauty:
On the suspension side of things, Sporting Kansas City will be without left back Jimmy Medranda due to yellow card accumulation. He played well against Portland last week, so it might be a tad detrimental to SKC having him out. However, Kansas City has four left backs total on their roster. So Jimmy shouldn't be too hard to replace.
Portland has been dealing with injuries all over the field this year and this week is no different. Head coach Caleb Porter told The Oregonian that Liam Ridgewell, Zarek Valentin, and Ben Zemanski are all unlikely to play against SKC.
Kansas is in the same boat as Portland with injuries. According to sportingkc.com, they're without starting keeper Tim Melia, all-star defender Matt Besler, and midfielder Justin Mapp. In addition to these three, sportingkc.com has also listed Brad Davis, Paulo Nagamura, and Graham Zusi as questionable to play Sunday. All these players missed the match last week with injuries as well.
Prediction
With Kansas City ending Portland's unbeaten streak last week and each side dealing with key injuries, it's unlikely that either side keeps a clean sheet. Expect a few goals and potentially a shoot-out if the Timbers can find their finishing boots.
Portland Timbers: 2, Sporting Kansas City: 2
