Two clubs in the Western Conference of MLS will do battle today in a league match between the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. The first-division clash scheduled for 9 p.m. ET will be held at Providence Park in Portland and can be live streamed here.
After a sluggish start to the season, the Portland Timbers are beginning to find their groove. Six points in four days allowed the club to surge up the Western Conference standings. A repeat performance in tonight's Cascadia clash would see the Timbers return to playoff positioning. For head coach Caleb Porter, it was the perfect rotation and professionalism that allowed them to succeed.
"It's good to know that when we rotate our team we get the same high level in terms of performance," Porter told the media in his postgame comments (via MLS's official website). "I thought it was a really professional performance. I thought over the course of the two games, I thought every single guy put a shift in, and that's great," he added.
"And we're going to need that to win games moving forward."
Will the Portland Timbers be able to extend their modest winning streak over Vancouver tonight? Tell us @SportsWN
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: No midfielder in MLS has the tenacious tendencies as Portland's Diego Chara. The 28-year-old enters today's match averaging 4.7 tackles and two interceptions per match.
Portland's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Ricketts; Harrington, Kah, Paparatto, Jewsbury; Johnson, Chara, Valeri; Zakuani, Fernandez, Nagbe
Vancouver's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ousted, Harvey, Leveron, O'Brien, Beitashour; Coker, Laba; Fernandez, Morales, Teibert; Manneh
Standings
| Rnk | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New England Revolution | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 23 | |||
| 2 | DC United | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 21 | |||
| 3 | Sporting Kansas City | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 19 | |||
| 4 | Houston Dynamo | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 24 | -8 | 17 | |||
| 5 | Columbus Crew | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 6 | Toronto FC | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 16 | |||
| 7 | New York Red Bulls | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 15 | |||
| 8 | Philadelphia Union | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 24 | -5 | 14 | |||
| 9 | Chicago Fire | 12 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 13 | |||
| 10 | Impact Montreal | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 22 | -11 | 10 |
| Rnk | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Sounders | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 29 | 21 | 8 | 29 | |||
| 2 | Real Salt Lake | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 24 | |||
| 3 | FC Dallas | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 24 | -1 | 18 | |||
| 4 | Colorado Rapids | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 18 | |||
| 5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 17 | |||
| 6 | Portland Timbers | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 7 | LA Galaxy | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 16 | |||
| 8 | San Jose Earthquakes | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 16 | |||
| 9 | Chivas USA | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 25 | -12 | 10 |
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