Between rare weekends off, the Portland Timbers face a crucial and unusual Wednesday night home match against playoff rival Sporting Kansas City at 7:30 pm from Providence Park. Thanks to injuries, suspensions, international call-ups, the resurgence of the Seattle Sounders and the emergence of the San Jose Earthquakes, this game will have a unique feel led by the intensifying pressure to pick up points and secure a playoff berth.
The Timbers will be without four key starters in Liam Ridgewell, Alvas Powell, Will Johnson, and Diego Chara, while Kansas City could be without at least four starters as well. An all-hands-on-deck effort from both teams is going to be required in what promises to be, to this point, one of the defining games of the 2015 season.
The History
The Timbers have only played Sporting Kansas City once in 2015, way back in March at Sporting Park in Kansas. That game was a mostly forgettable 0-0 draw, as both Sporting and the Timbers sputtered out of the gates early in the season.
But these two teams will be seeing plenty of each other from now on. These teams are slated to play two times in less than a month, as Sporting will make another trip to Portland for an October 3rd meeting. There’s also the looming possibility of a playoff matchup—most likely in the expanded Wild Card round—and the winner of these next two meetings has a terrific chance of hosting in the postseason.
Sporting’s last trip to Portland—with a shorthanded team—was a huge success, as SKC notched as smash-and-grab 1-0 victory in the middle of the World Cup last summer. Kansas City and Portland have combined for several thrillers over the years, including in 2011 when Darlington Nagbe scored the MLS Goal of the Year, and in 2013 when the Timbers got one of the signature wins in MLS franchise history 3-2 in Kansas.
With SKC and the Timbers now sharing a conference, and with the two franchises already sharing plenty of similarities with young, exuberant owners and passionate fan bases thriving in smaller markets, this could become more of a rivalry in the coming years.
The Tactics
The Timbers might have been without key players in Seattle, a challenge they handled quite well even in defeat, but that was nothing compared to what the Timbers will be facing against Sporting.
The starting central midfield is still out, with Diego Chara serving the last of a two-game ban and Will Johnson away with Canada. New to the inactive list is Liam Ridgewell, who has a yellow-card suspension, and Alvas Powell, who is with Jamaica.
Jack Jewsbury and George Fochive played well in the middle against the Sounders, but this promises to be a stiffer challenge. Norberto Paparatto has been solid when utilized at center-back this season, and he’ll step in for Ridgewell, while Taylor Peay—with just a game a half of MLS experience—will replace Powell at fullback.
Paparatto’s presence, along with the need to use Peay conservatively, may limit how much the Timbers try to play out of the back. Ridgewell and Jorge Villafaña are Portland’s most comfortable defenders on the ball, and while Borchers and Paparatto aren’t as hopeless as Powell is passing wise, Caleb Porter may opt for safety first. If that’s the case, Fanendo Adi will need to have a big night in the air. For once, he does have a size advantage over the opposing center-backs.
The good news for the Timbers is that the front four of Darlington Nagbe, Diego Valeri, Lucas Melano, and Fanendo Adi that looked extremely promising against Seattle will remain intact, and it’s crucial that Portland scores early and often in this game.
Kansas City will get captain Matt Besler back from the US national team in time to suit up, and despite their absences, will also have plenty of weapons in attack with Benny Feilhaber, Graham Zusi, and Dom Dwyer all fit and ready to play. Last summer, Sporting boss Peter Vermes sat in and played on the counter—it will be interesting to see if he takes a more optimistic approach to this game on Wednesday night.
The Lineup
12 – Kwarasey
20 – Peay
7 – Borchers
23 – Paparatto
19 – Villafaña
5 – Fochive
13 – Jewsbury
6 – Nagbe
8 – Valeri
26 – Melano
9 – Adi
The Pick
This isn’t a great matchup for Portland, and with the Timbers missing all kinds of key players, this could be a tough night. That being said, Kansas City isn’t in a great vein of form themselves. A 1-1 draw seems like the safest option.
