Game two of the Portland Timbers three-match MLS homestand begins on Sunday as they welcome St Louis City to Providence Park.

The Timbers moved up to fifth in the Western Conference thanks to a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids, while St Louis ended a five-match winless run across all competitions, beating the San Jose Earthquakes by that same score.

Match preview

Providence Park has usually served the Timbers well, and that has been the case for them throughout this domestic campaign so far.

Phil Neville’s side are unbeaten in their last seven league games at home since losing their regular season opener in Portland to the Vancouver Whitecaps (4-1).

On Sunday, they have a chance to win consecutive home matches in this competition for the first time since August to September 2024 (two).

Portland are unbeaten in their last nine MLS affairs when netting multiple times and have not lost a domestic home contest when doing so since August 2023 (3-2 to the Vancouver Whitecaps).

Throughout his managerial tenure, Neville has employed an aggressive approach, often throwing caution to the wind, which has produced mixed results, with the Timbers scoring three or more goals five times in league play and giving up that many on three occasions in 2025.

So far this year, they have only suffered one league defeat to a side with fewer points than them currently, losing at the San Jose Earthquakes in May (4-1).

The David Critchley era as interim manager of St Louis began positively as this team won just their third MLS match of 2025 the last time out.

That put an end to an 11-match winless run for them in this competition, while they netted as many goals against the Quakes as they had in their previous three MLS affairs combined.

Another triumph on Sunday would equal their longest winning run domestically during Olof Mellberg’s brief tenure in charge earlier this season.

Meanwhile, a victory this weekend would also match their output for away wins in this competition from 2024, having beaten the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-0 in March.

St Louis have collected at least a point in their previous 10 matches played in this competition when netting multiple times, dating back to last season.

Sunday will mark their third visit to Providence Park, and this team have yet to lose in Portland, claiming a wild 4-4 draw in this exact fixture last season and winning their first trip to the Pacific Northwest in 2023 (2-1).

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

A back problem kept Zac McGraw out of the Portland lineup against the Rapids, while James Pantemis was sidelined because of a leg injury.

They will be missing Finn Surman, who is on international duty with New Zealand, Ariel Lassiter was called up to the Costa Rican squad and Maxime Crepeau was named to the Canadian team.

Antony and Kevin Kelsy scored in the final 45 minutes of their previous encounter, after going behind 1-0, 10 minutes before the interval.

Due to a knee injury, Joakim Nilsson missed the previous St Louis fixture, as did Jannes Horn, who had a quad strain and Rasmus Alm was sidelined due to a sore hip.

Midfielder Callum Wallem must sit out after receiving two cautions in their previous game, both of which took place in second-half stoppage time.

Klauss and Eduard Lowen scored in first and second-half stoppage time, respectively, against the Quakes to give them a narrow victory.

Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:

Muse; Mosquera, Fory, K. Miller, Bravo; Chara, Ayala; Moreno, Da Costa, Antony; Mora

St Louis City possible starting lineup:

Burki; Totland, Kessler, Baumgartl, Reid; Ostrak, Lowen; Teuchert, Hartel, Pompeu; Klauss

We say: Portland Timbers 1-3 St Louis City

The Timbers tend to play a risky game with such a high line, while committing so many numbers forward, and a St Louis side on the rebound may be able to expose them on the counter.

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

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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