After a deeply frustrating 1-0 loss at CenturyLink Field against the Seattle Sounders last Friday night, the Portland Timbers are back at it in Cascadia Cup action with their first home game since mid-April against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The rivalry between the ‘Caps and the Timbers, once friendly, has turned decidedly sour. Diego Valeri is set to make his 2015 debut after recovering from an ACL tear in this game, and captain Will Johnson could be available as well. There’s never a dull moment at Providence Park—get ready for another action-packed ride.
The History
Portland and Vancouver had always been Cascadia’s chummiest rivalry. It really wasn’t until a 4-3 Whitecaps win in Portland last summer that tensions ticked above normalcy.
Things have changed. Starting this season with an ill-tempered, bone-crunching friendly which saw two Timbers sent off and Ben Zemanski lost for the season in a 1-0 Vancouver win, and continuing with the Canadians pulling these teams’ first regular season meeting of the year out of the fire at BC Place with a last-minute goal by Robert Earnshaw, this might be Portland’s hottest on-field derby matchup in the league.
Portland, certainly, will be out for revenge from the 2-1 defeat in March. The ‘Caps, on the other hand, played one of their worst games of the season in that win, and will want to show the Timbers a much stiffer fight. It’s a litmus test for Vancouver, who are off to a hot start this year but haven’t really cooled doubts about their overall title credentials.
For the Timbers, it’s yet another tantalizing opportunity—almost at full-strength now—to get their season back on track.
The Tactics
Vancouver, surprise, surprise, have had discipline problems all year. Those problems manifested last weekend against DC United with the first-half red card of central midfield Matias Laba. He’ll miss this match against Portland, and that’s all the better for Laba, who has been absolutely exposed by Darlington Nagbe in these games the last few years.
Laba figures to be replaced by longtime Whitecap Gershon Koffie. Mauro Rosales is back in the mix for this team, and he looks set to start for the 24,203th time against Portland. Whether Kakuta Manneh or Erik Hurtado are back in the team are the real questions as Carl Robinson looks for the fourth man to put around Rosales, Pedro Morales, and Octavio Rivero.
Portland will be bolstered—mind, body, and spirit—by the return of their most prolific player in Diego Valeri. Because of a lack of match fitness, Valeri won’t go 90 minutes — but don’t be shocked if he starts and plays a half or 60 minutes. It’s a guarantee that he’ll see the field, weather from the start or off the bench.
Will Johnson looks less likely to play, but Jack Jewsbury has been more than adequate as his replacement thus far in the season. Both of the Timbers’ wing options, Dairon Asprilla and Rodney Wallace, have been struggling with injury. But they’re both expected to be fit for the match and, depending on Valeri’s status, could start, with Wallace replacing an ineffective Ishmael Yartey.
Caleb Porter pulled a major surprise in Seattle starting Maxi Urruti over Fanendo Adi, but Adi should be back in the team, one just because he’s better, and two because the Timbers like the matchup with him against his former teammate Pa Modou Kah.
Yes, this is the first time Kah’s name has come up, and yes, he’s serving as the rivalry’s linchpin right now, and yes, boo him all you want when the game starts. But when he’s introduced, he should absolutely be cheered.
The Lineup
12 – Kwarasey
2 – Powell
24 – Ridgewell (C)
7 – Borchers
19 – Villafaña
13 – Jewsbury
21 – Chara
11 – Asprilla
6 – Nagbe
22 – Wallace
9 – Adi
The Pick
It hasn’t been talked about a ton, but one of Portland’s most frustrating qualities over the last year and change has been their inability to win consistently at home. With Portland’s offense struggling to create, and not knowing what kind of impact Valeri can have right off the bat, I’ll pick a 1-1 draw in an intense, physical game.
