After an unwelcome and deflating defeat in the US Open Cup round of sixteen midweek in Utah, the Portland Timbers return to MLS action at Providence Park on Sunday night with the first of three matches of 2015 against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Since late May, the Timbers have been superb at home. They’ve won their last four matches in Portland, and only conceded one goal in the process during a run of five out of six wins in MLS. The match on Sunday against the Earthquakes will present a chance for the Timbers to continue that momentum irrespective of the Open Cup loss.
The History
This match was supposed to start at 2:00 PM for national TV on Sunday, but a convergence of factors led to the match time being changed to 8:00, also on ESPN2. For one, the Women’s World Cup Final between the United States and Japan is scheduled to start at 3:00, overlapping with what would have been the second half of the Timbers game. Secondly, if the match was played in the afternoon, the temperature would have been near 100 degrees — a health risk for players and fans.
ESPN’s and MLS’ amenability, along with flexibility from San Jose, allowed the match to be moved to a later start time that will benefit everyone involved. Sometimes common sense wins.
On the field, this is the first meeting of the year between Portland and the ‘Quakes. Outside of Cascadia, San Jose have been the Timbers’ biggest rivals over the years. This ’bout reached its peak in 2013, when the Timbers got good and San Jose went from obnoxious and good to just obnoxious.
The Timbers dominated this matchup last year, beating San Jose twice and drawing once. The Timbers scored multiple goals in every match. This will be the first game in which Dominic Kinnear has led the Earthquakes agains Portland.
The Tactics
The Timbers should be, with the exception of Ben Zemanski, in perfect health. Dairon Asprilla, who started midweek against Real Salt Lake, is back, as is Liam Ridgewell who served his red card suspension last week against Seattle.
Darlington Nagbe and Diego Chara are both battling knocks, and both weren’t at full-strength in training this week, but both are generally immune to injury and should play. The Timbers are likely to roll out the same eleven — with Ridgewell back in for Norberto Paparatto — that was so sensational last Sunday against the Sounders.
San Jose will be without captain and talisman Chris Wondolowski, who is with the US national team for this month’s Gold Cup. Matias Perez Garcia is a player to watch for the ‘Quakes, while standout rookie midfielder Fatai Alashe is a product of the Timbers U23s.
The Lineup
12 – Kwarasey
2 – Powell
24 – Ridgewell
7 – Borchers
19 – Villafaña
21 – Chara
4 – W. Johnson (C)
6 – Nagbe
8 – Valeri
10 – Fernandez
9 – Adi
The Pick
Last week, a midweek drubbing at the hands of the LA Galaxy had no impact as the Timbers turned around and crushed the Sounders that last weekend. Look for a similar bounce-back this week, as the Timbers get another favorable matchup against a depleted San Jose side. 2-0 Portland.
