After a flat start to the Giovani Savarese era last Sunday night in Carson, the Portland Timbers head East to Harrison, NJ to take on the New York Red Bulls in their second game of the 2018 season on Saturday night (4:00 pm, TV on ROOT Sports).
The Timbers will be looking to make significant strides, both defensively and offensively, in game particularly meaningful to their coach.
The Opponent
On Tuesday night, the New York Red Bulls did something remarkable: they won a competitive game in Mexico. Behind two first half goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips, the Red Bulls knocked off Club Tijuana 2-0 and are on the brink of advancing to the Concacaf Champions League semifinal.
The return leg in Harrison is coming up next Tuesday, and with that game in mind, the Red Bulls are expected to field a weakened team to face the Timbers in their MLS opener tomorrow night.
Despite that, Jesse Marsch's team will still be a handful — using the same high-pressing, hard-running, intricate system that has made them one of the league's most dependable teams over the last three years.
A big crowd is expected at Red Bull Arena, where the home team will be debuting its long-awaited red jerseys. The game will be a homecoming of sorts for Giovani Savarese, who spent nearly two decades in New York as a player and coach and was a MetroStars fan favorite in the late '90s. He'll have numerous friends and family on hand.
The Tactics
This game coming in between New York's Champions League games is a sizable break for Portland. Wright-Phillips is a likely candidate to sit, along with the likes of Daniel Royer and Tim Parker. Kaku, Carlos Rivas, and Tommy Redding will likely make their debuts.
It will be interesting to see how Savarese chooses to deploy his team. The Timbers' own high press had a few bright moments in LA last weekend, but also left the defense completely exposed.
Will he draw his team back and look to hit the Red Bulls on counters? The New York attack is likely to be hurt more than its defense by the squad rotation. Their front six will likely have about ten MLS goals between them.
The Lineup
90 - Gleeson
32 - Farfan
24 - Ridgewell (C)
33 - Mabiala
16 - Valentin
22 - Paredes
20 - Guzman
11 - Polo
8 - Valeri
10 - Blanco
9 - Adi
— Jeff Attinella and Vytas remained sidelined, so Jake Gleeson and Marco Farfan will retain their places.
— Diego Chara's status us up in the air, but he should, at a minimum, be available off the bench. It might make sense to get him some minutes and start him for the first time after the bye week.
— We'll get an early look at just what kind of patience Savarese is going to have with underperforming starters by who gets the nod right back after Alvas Powell's dismal performance in LA.
— This lineup assumes the 4-3-2-1, but Savarese could easily pull the plug and shift into a 4-4-2 with Samuel Armenteros coming in for Paredes.
REFEREE: Allen Chapman
The Memory
Portland won the last matchup between these teams 2-0 in a pulsating contest last August. This, after Larrys Mabiala was sent off with ten minutes to go, was about as loud as Providence Park got in 2017.
The Pick
The Red Bulls are flying high right now, but their Champions League endeavors will make this a fair fight. 1-1 draw.
