Seattle Sounders will be looking to continue their fantastic start to the MLS season when they travel to Providence Park to take on Portland Timbers on Saturday evening.
Seattle are top of the table, having picked up 16 points from their first seven games, while Portland have made a poor start to the campaign, currently down in 12th place.
Match preview
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Portland finished one point outside of the playoff places last season, but they will need to improve considerably if they are to finish in a similar position this season, having been very disappointing in their first seven games.
The Timbers have just five points to their name so far, having failed to record a victory since the opening game of the season, when they beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0 at Providence Park.
Giovanni Savarese's side have conceded 12 goals in the MLS up to this point, the second-highest amount of any side in the Western Conference, having been on the receiving end of a heavy 5-1 defeat away at Atlanta United back in March.
In their last three games, Portland have managed to shore things up defensively, conceding just two goals, but they have been unable to pick up three points on any occasion, having drawn twice, losing their most recent match.
The Timbers were defeated 1-0 in a trip to Vancouver Whitecaps courtesy of a late goal from Brian White, but in truth it could have been a lot more, with the hosts having nine shots on target, while Savarese's side did not record any in the entire match.
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Seattle Sounders have shown major signs of improvement so far this season, after finishing 11th in the previous campaign, currently top of the table, having won five and drawn one of their opening seven matches.
A particularly pleasing aspect of Seattle's performances for manager Brian Schmetzer will be their defensive record, conceding just three goals up to this point, the fewest of any side in both the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference.
That said, Saturday's game will be a real test of how far Schmetzer's side have come, as they have a very poor recent record against Portland, drawing one and losing three of the last four meetings between the two sides.
Last time out, the Rave Green sent out a warning to the rest of the MLS with a fantastic 3-0 win against an in-form St Louis City side, winning 3-0 at Lumen Field, where they remain unbeaten so far this season.
Seattle have also won their last two away games on the spin, which should give them confidence heading into a game against a team at the opposite end of the league table.
Team News
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Portland will be without long-term absentee Felipe Mora, who is still suffering with a knee injury, while fellow striker Tega Ikoba has been struggling of late, so Jaroslaw Niezgoda could be brought into the starting lineup in attack.
Yimmi Chara is also unlikely to feature, with the forward still undergoing treatment for a muscle injury, while Cristhian Paredes is unavailable, meaning the Timbers are a little light on numbers in attacking areas.
As for Seattle Sounders, Kelwyn Rowe has missed the last two games through injury, so Albert Rusnak and Joshua Atencio should continue in central midfield, with the latter scoring his first goal of the season last time out.
Schmetzer is unlikely to tinker with a winning formula too much, but Raul Ruidiaz could be brought in at left-wing, having scored after being brought on as a substitute against St Louis City, with Leo Chu dropping to the bench.
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Miller, Zuparic, McGraw, Rasmussen; Moreno, Chara, Gutierrez; Mosquera, Boli, Niezgoda
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; Roldan, Gomez, Ragen, Nouhou; Rusnak, Atencio, Roldan, Lodeiro, Ruidiaz; Morris
We say: Portland Timbers 0-2 Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders have made an excellent start to the season, particularly impressing in the 3-0 victory against St Louis City last time out, and we expect them to put their bad recent record against Portland Timbers behind them this weekend.
Jordan Morris has been in fantastic form, with eight MLS goals up to this point, and the striker could be the difference-maker in attack, while the defence has been solid enough to indicate Seattle are likely to get a clean sheet.
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Top tip
Dominic Lund
