Preview: Portland Timbers vs Seattle Sounders - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting for the second time in just over three weeks, the Seattle Sounders will be seeking some retribution when they visit Providence Park on Saturday to face the Portland Timbers.

Last weekend the Timbers continued their winning ways, moving up to 10th in the MLS Western Conference thanks to a 2-1 triumph over Real Salt Lake, putting them three points below the Rave Green, who fell to eighth after losing 1-0 at the Philadelphia Union.

Match preview

A coaching change during the World Cup break seems to have come at the opportune moment for Portland.

Since the sacking of Phil Neville in May, this team have yet to lose, earning points in their last three league games, two of which came under current boss Marti Cifuentes.

The former Leicester City manager can claim his first home victory as an MLS coach this weekend, with his side coming from behind twice to draw Dallas 2-2 in their last league game at Providence Park.

Portland have picked up at least a point in five of their last six regular season affairs at home and can equal their longest home winning run of 2026 with a victory this weekend (two).

They have conceded first in their last three matches at Providence Park in this competition but found a way to earn a point in those last two instances.

The Timbers are unbeaten in four of their last five meetings with Seattle at home, winning on three of those occasions.

While the Timbers have been trending in the right direction of late, it has been the opposite for Brian Schmetzer and the Sounders in recent times.

Seattle will try to snap a five-match losing run in this competition on Saturday, scoring just two goals over that stretch.

Another defeat for them this weekend would set a franchise record for their longest losing run in MLS, surpassing the mark of five from 2015.

On the road domestically this season, the Sounders have struggled to find the back of the net, failing to score more than once in a single MLS road encounter this year.

Should they lose on Saturday, they would surpass their longest run of defeats away from home in this competition from 2025 (three).

The Rave Green have points in two of their last three visits to Providence Park, with their last victory in Portland taking place in 2024 (2-1).

Portland Timbers Major League Soccer form:

Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer form:

Team News

Due to foot and ankle issues, the Timbers could be missing Juan David Mosquera and Kevin Kelsy this weekend, while Gage Guerra is questionable because of a muscular problem.

Felipe Mora netted a brace in their come-from-behind triumph against RSL in what was his last match for the club.

Hamstring strains may prevent Ryan Sailor and Kim Kee-hee from featuring for Seattle, while Cristian Roldan and Jordan Morris are doubtful with quad issues.

Nikola Petkovic and Pedro de la Vega are both expected to miss another game because of knee problems, while Alex Roldan is dealing with a sore hip.

Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:

Pantemis; Bye, Surman, Miller, Fory; Chara, Da Costa; Lassiter, Bassett, Velde; Antony

Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:

Thomas; Kossa-Rienzi, Hawkins, Lopez, Tolo; Dotson, Brunell; Arriola, Rusnak, Ferreira; Musovski

We say: Portland Timbers 2-0 Seattle Sounders

Things appear to be clicking with the Timbers right now, while the Sounders backline have been uncharacteristically unstable, which is why we project another Portland triumph.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.