Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Major League Soccer clash between Portland Timbers and St Louis City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Major League Soccer resumes after a month of Leagues Cup action, and wrapping up a jam-packed weekend of football, we will see the Portland Timbers taking on St Louis City at Providence Park.
The hosts entered the cup break in eighth place with 25 points in the Western Conference, while the visitors need to play catch-up, currently second-bottom with 23 points after 25 league matches.
Match preview
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While a win here will be the main goal, Portland will surely be playing for more than just three points this weekend, as it was their upcoming opponents who sent them packing from the Leagues Cup less than a fortnight ago, and this will be seen as an opportunity for revenge.
The Timbers dominated possession but only Claudio Bravo managed to find the back of the net from the team’s five shots on target, while the visitors notched up three goals from the same number of attempts.
Going into the Leagues Cup, Portland suffered an away loss to LA Galaxy, taking their record for the season to 10 wins, six draws and nine losses in their 25 matches, though they have scored 50 goals already which is the second-best tally in the West.
However, they have needed to be good in attack having already shipped 42 goals – the third most in the Conference behind San Jose and Sporting KC, who are 12th and 14th in the current league standings.
The vast majority of Phil Neville‘s side’s goals have come here at Providence Park, including 20 in their last seven matches alone – a period during which they remained unbeaten with six wins and a draw.
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Meanwhile, St Louis return to the league and there is now a sense of expectation about this team after an impressive cup run that ended in the round of 16 against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
What makes that run all the more notable is that of the 29 MLS teams that entered the competition, only four sides, including the Sounders, Rapids and Earthquakes, made it to the last 16.
Indeed, two wins in the Leagues Cup is more than the side have managed in their last 14 MLS matches, but the City that exited the cup competition is not the same as the one that began it, and there are promising signs for the rest of the season, with some of their new signings looking as though they can help spark a turnaround in form.
For John Hackworth, the new arrivals could not have come at a better time, as his side have failed to win a single away game this season. Additionally, a run of positive results on the road will surely help his chances of landing the full-time managerial position.
Portland Timbers Major League Soccer form:
Portland Timbers form (all competitions):
St Louis City Major League Soccer form:
St Louis City form (all competitions):
Team News
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David Ayala and Zac McGraw shook off knocks to feature in the Leagues Cup and should be part of the selection decision this weekend after both players found the net in the competition.
Jonathan Rodriguez failed to add to his season’s tally in the cup but still leads the team with 12 goals this season, and he is almost certain to lead the attack alongside Felipe Mora, who is just one goal behind him.
St Louis are likely to be without as many as five players for this match, including Joao Klauss, Rasmus Alm, Joakim Nilsson, Celio Pompeu and Tomas Ostrak due to various injuries.
The new arrivals mentioned earlier include Simon Becher, Cedric Teuchert and Marcel Hartel, all of whom were on the scoresheet when these sides met in the cup, and they will be hoping to make the starting 11 in this one as well.
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Pantemis; Mosquera, Araujo, Zuparic, Bravo; Chara, Williamson, Rodriguez, Evander, Moreno; Mora
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Totland, Yaro, Parker, Reid; Blorn, Pearce, Teuchert, Lowen, Becher; Thorisson
We say: Portland Timbers 2-2 St Louis City
While St Louis had the home advantage when these two met in the Leagues Cup, they followed up with a very good away performance a few days later and only let the match slip away in the final 10 minutes. Portland will be tough to beat but we feel City will be able to take a share of the spoils from this one.
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