After seeing their 10-game unbeaten run end last weekend, the Portland Timbers return to MLS action on Sunday when they travel to Children's Mercy Park for a match against Sporting Kansas City.
SKC are dead last in the Western Conference following a 4-3 defeat away to Austin FC, while the MLS Cup runners-up from 2021 trail the Vancouver Whitecaps for the final playoff spot because they possess two fewer victories than their Pacific Northwest rivals.
Match preview
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With just 23 points from 26 games, it is fair to say that this season for Kansas City has not gone the way many had expected.
Being without a pair of Designated Players throughout the year, plus a lack of continuity and quality, have all factored into this team being well off what we have seen them achieve in previous regular season campaigns.
Sporting have lost four of their past five MLS affairs, however one positive would be their play in the attacking third, scoring seven goals in their last two games, more than any club in the league over that stretch.
They have created more opportunities of late, averaging 15 shot attempts per game over their previous two fixtures and eight shots on target, both of which are well above their season average of 10.7 shots and 3.5 shots on target per game.
Kansas City have notched the fewest goals in MLS (26), failing to score on five occasions at Children's Mercy Park, though they did put four past the Los Angeles Galaxy in a 4-2 victory at the beginning of August.
The results may not be what we are used to seeing from a side that finished in the top three of the Western Conference standings in three of the past four regular season's but Peter Vermes can take solace in knowing that many of his youngsters are chipping in this year, as 10 of their 16 assists have come from Academy products, a good sign for the future of this club.
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Portland have been one of the best clubs over the past couple of months, but in one game, all of that evaporated as they conceded 12 shots on target to Toronto, losing 3-1, falling below the playoff line.
Allowing an excessive amount of efforts is something we are used to seeing from this team, who have conceded a league-high 378 shots in 2022, which works out to an average of 14.5 per match.
Giovanni Savarese has always had an aggressive mindset, encouraging his players to go at other teams and play physical, so it should be no surprise to see the Timbers leading the league when it comes to cautions (76), averaging 2.9 a game this season.
Getting off to a good start is something we have rarely seen from this side throughout the year, as Portland have scored the fewest first-half goals in the league (11), though they have fared well in the second 45 minutes of matches, tallying 31 times, the third-most in MLS.
They have only managed to come away with two victories away from home this year, however, the Timbers have still been able to generate their share of points as the visitors, currently ranked second in road draws this year with six.
A point is always good, though, at the moment, it seems like those draws are holding them back as they are tied for the third-fewest wins in the Western Conference (seven), and while they have a better goal difference than Nashville SC and Vancouver, Portland have fewer wins which is the first tiebreaker in the standings.
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Team News
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Johnny Russell has been the top contributor for KC throughout the campaign, scoring nine times in all competitions, followed by Daniel Salloi, who has seven.
William Agada has three goals in his last two games, and Erik Thommy followed up his goal against the Galaxy by winning a free kick and penalty kick, both of which led to goals in their defeat to Austin last weekend.
Remi Walter has an opportunity to earn his 50th start for SKC this weekend, as he leads them with 27 chances created, Felipe Hernandez is first on the team with four assists in all competitions and Andreu Fontas netted his first of the season against the Verde and Black.
KC could be missing Khiry Shelton with a calf strain, Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda are done for the year following their knee surgeries, while Ozzie Cisneros and Tim Melia have hamstring injuries and Kortne Ford remains suspended until mid-September for the use of a performance-enhancing substance.
Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco collected his 50th career assist last week on the first-ever MLS goal scored by Josecarlos Van Rankin, Dairon Asprilla picked up his 150th MLS cap and Aljaz Ivacic made nine saves in a losing effort against the Reds, as he leads the league with 87 stops.
Claudio Bravo is first in MLS for tackles won (60), Yimmi Chara has five game-winning assists this season, one off the league lead, while Jaroslaw Niezgoda leads them in goals this year with nine.
Felipe Mora remains out because of an issue with his knee, and Diego Gutierrez is expected to miss another encounter due to a foot injury.
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Pulskamp; Sweat, Fontas, Isimat-Mirin, Zusi; Thommy, Walter, Espinoza; Salloi, Agada, Russell
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Zuparic, Van Rankin, Tuiloma; Bravo, D. Chara, Williamson, Y. Chara; Niezgoda, Asprilla; Blanco
We say: Sporting Kansas City 1-3 Portland Timbers
The Timbers are unbeaten in their last five matches against SKC, and while we do not expect this game to be entirely as one-sided as their earlier encounter this year, in which Portland won 7-2, the home side have been poor defensively, allowing multiple goals in five straight games, something we think will hamper them in this fixture.
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