Sunday, July 6

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Sports Mole previews Sunday's MLS Playoffs clash between Portland Timbers and New England Revolution, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Portland Timbers will aim to return to winning ways when they host New England Revolution in a cross-conference clash in Major League Soccer this weekend.

The hosts are winless in their last two matches, while the visitors are also enduring a poor run, having now gone three games without claiming maximum points.

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Match preview

After finding ways to navigate a couple of barren spells earlier in the campaign, Portland once again find themselves in that territory after being held to a draw by San Jose Earthquakes before suffering a humbling 3-0 defeat at the hands of Toronto.

That marked the third time this season the Timbers have failed to win in back-to-back matches, and if they do not stop the slide here, Phil Neville’s men will go three games without victory for the second time.

With eight wins from 19 matches so far, Portland can take some encouragement from their output, especially as they are only four shy of their overall tally from the previous campaign, where they finished ninth in the Western Conference but crashed out at the Wildcard stage with a dismal loss to Vancouver Whitecaps.

Currently sitting fourth in the standings with 30 points, the Timbers appear well-placed for direct qualification to the MLS Cup playoffs, although recent form suggests the need for caution, with just four points separating them from Colorado Rapids and Austin FC in eighth and ninth.

Their firepower has been a major strength, with 28 goals scored so far, though a leaky defence has seen them ship 27, and notably, six of PTFC’s eight wins have come in high-scoring contests where they found the net at least twice.

At home, Neville’s men have scored in all 10 league matches so far, though they have kept only two clean sheets, but with a nine-match unbeaten streak at Providence Park that includes five wins, Portland have every reason to believe they can claim all three points here.

However, the hosts must reckon with a strange trend in this fixture, with each of the last five league meetings with New England ending in score draws, the last break in that sequence coming in 2015 when the Timbers ran out 2-0 winners on their own patch.

Meanwhile, the Revs travel west without a win in any of their past six visits to Providence Park, drawing two and losing four, and considering their current struggles, a point here would likely be welcome.

After stringing together four straight victories between April 12 and May 3 without conceding, Caleb Porter’s men have seen the wheels come off, with just one victory in their last eight top-flight matches (D5, L2), while managing only two clean sheets and conceding exactly three goals on five occasions. 

That includes their most recent outing, which ended in a dramatic 3-3 draw with Colorado Rapids, after New England clawed their way back from a three-goal deficit to snatch a point in stoppage time.

The result leaves the Revs 11th in the Eastern Conference with 24 points from 18 games, and while they missed out on the knockout rounds last season after finishing 14th, there is still hope of redemption this time around, with the wildcard spots only four points away and a game in hand on the teams occupying them. 

New England’s prospects could be even brighter given that they are just five points adrift of seventh-placed New York Red Bulls, who have played two more matches, so a win this weekend could significantly boost their chances of a return to the post-season.

Despite their recent blip, the Revs have been a force on the road, now unbeaten in seven away matches in the league with four wins in that run, so they too can be confident of nicking something from this one.

 

Portland Timbers MLS form:

Portland Timbers form (all competitions):

New England Revolution MLS form:

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Team News

Portland suffered another injury setback in their defeat to Toronto, with 22-year-old midfielder Omir Fernandez forced off in the 54th minute, making him a doubt for this weekend’s clash.

Should he fail to recover, he would join the growing injury list that includes Ariel Lassiter (metacarpal fracture), Antony (hamstring), Jonathan Rodriguez (knee) and Zac McGraw (back).

First-choice goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau and centre-back Kamal Miller are expected to return to the squad after Canada’s elimination from the Gold Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.

The visitors also picked up an injury last time out, with Tomas Chancalay going off in the first half, and Luca Langoni, who came on to replace him, is expected to start from the off in Portland.

Goalkeeper Alex Bono remains sidelined with a neck issue, though his absence is not expected to trouble Porter as he is not the regular starter, while Cameroon international Ignatius Ganago is likely to miss a fourth straight match due to a quad problem.

Club captain Carles Gil has been a shining light for the Revs this season, with seven goals and five assists in 18 appearances, and after grabbing a goal and an assist in the last outing, he will look to inspire again from the middle of the park.

Maximiliano Urruti made a strong case for a starting role after coming off the bench to net the stoppage-time equaliser against Colorado, and he could be rewarded with a place in the front line.

 

Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:

Pantemis; Mosquera, Surman, Zuparic, Fory; Chara, Ayala; Moreno, Da Costa, Kelsy; Mora

New England Revolution possible starting lineup:

Ivacic; Hughes, Beason, Ceballos; Feingold, Yusuf, Gil, Polster, Miller; Langoni, Urruti

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We say: Portland Timbers 2-2 New England Revolution

 

While New England have not been the most convincing of late, their impressive away run cannot be overlooked, but with no joy in their previous six visits to Providence Park and the last five meetings between these two all ending in score draws, another stalemate could be on the cards here.

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

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