Preview: Austin FC vs Portland Timbers - prediction, team news, lineups

Austin FC host Portland Timbers in a Major League Soccer Decision Day fixture at Q2 Stadium on Saturday.

A win would clinch a playoff place for Portland, while Austin, already eliminated, play the last match of Davy Arnaud’s interim spell before Jim Curtin takes over.

Match preview

Austin FC sit 14th in the Western Conference and were eliminated from playoff contention by consecutive defeats to Real Salt Lake on October 28 and LA Galaxy on October 31.

Arnaud has been in charge on an interim basis since Nico Estevez was dismissed on May 18, and Curtin, the former Philadelphia Union head coach, takes over on December 1 or at the end of the season, whichever is later.

The Galaxy defeat was settled early, with Joao Klauss scoring in the 10th minute, Hirving Lozano in the 38th and Robert Taylor in the 48th to leave Austin three goals down before the hour.

Ervin Torres pulled one back in the 54th minute with a long-range strike for his second career MLS goal, set up by Micah Burton, who was making his first MLS start, and Jorge Alastuey, before Sergi Roberto made it 4-1 in the 66th minute.

Damian Las made two saves in the 35th minute to keep the score at 2-0 at that stage, and Riley Thomas came off the bench to make his MLS debut.

Austin have scored in each of their last seven matches, having last been held scoreless by FC Dallas on September 20.

Myrto Uzuni and Christian Ramirez both have nine goals and would reach double figures with a goal on Saturday.

Austin also won the last meeting 2-1 at Providence Park on August 29, with Facundo Torres scoring the opener and Oleksandr Svatok netting the winner in stoppage time.

Portland Timbers are eighth in the West on 43 points, with 12 wins, seven draws and 14 defeats from their 33 matches, and a run of three straight victories has lifted them into a wild-card position.

Marti Cifuentes’s side were in a seven-game winless run between early September and mid-October, so a third successive playoff appearance in his first season would mark a sharp turnaround.

The three wins came against Charlotte FC, St. Louis City and Houston Dynamo, all of whom are heading to the postseason, and the Timbers scored nine goals across them.

The 3-1 victory over Houston on November 1 featured a 18-8 shot advantage, with six efforts on target compared with one for the visitors.

Vincent Janssen, a midseason signing, scored his fifth goal of the season against Houston and added two assists, the first of his MLS career.

Kristoffer Velde scored his 11th goal of the season in the same game, and American Soccer Analysis rated him the most valuable outfield player in MLS outside Lionel Messi since the World Cup break.

David Da Costa scored the opener and took his team-leading assist tally to 11 from the corner that Janssen headed in for the third.

The Timbers rank ninth in MLS for goals scored but 22nd for goals conceded, and they have kept only two clean sheets this season.

A win clinches a playoff place and keeps seventh place, and a round-one berth, within reach, while a draw only secures qualification with help from other results.

Austin FC Major League Soccer form:

Portland Timbers Major League Soccer form:

Team News

Austin will do without Chris Applewhite (quad) and Jon Bell (lower abdomen) for Matchday 34, Zan Kolmanic is suspended following his red card against LA Galaxy.

Uzuni and Ramirez are both available to chase double figures, and Facundo Torres, scorer of the August opener in Portland is also available.

Portland have six players listed as out: Alex Bonetig (shoulder), Brandon Bye (knee), Jimer Fory (concussion), Zac McGraw (back), Juan Mosquera (foot/ankle) and goalkeeper Trey Muse (concussion).

Janssen, Velde, Da Costa and Ariel Lassiter are all available again.

Austin FC possible starting lineup:

Las; Desler, Sanchez, Biro; Burton, Sabovic, E. Torres, Alastuey; Placheta, Gallagher, Ramirez

Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:

Pantemis; Hernandez, Surman, Waterman, Smith; Izoita, Caicedo, Da Costa; Lassiter, Velde, Janssen

We say: Austin FC 1-2 Portland Timbers

Portland arrive with the clearer motivation and the stronger recent evidence, as nine goals in three wins against playoff-bound opponents sit alongside a front line in which Janssen, Velde and Da Costa are all producing.

Austin conceded three goals inside 48 minutes at the Galaxy, are heading for a bottom-two finish in the West, and have nothing to play for beyond individual milestones and the chance to give their academy players further minutes.

The Timbers have not lost in Austin since 2021, and their need for a result should decide a game in which both sides score.

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