The Seattle Sounders are taking on the Portland Timbers on Thursday in their fourth and final meeting of the 2020 MLS regular season. Here is everything you need to know.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. PT at CenturyLink Field.
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be televised on FS1.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air on 1090 KJR AM and El Rey 1360 AM.
2020 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 9-4-4 (31 points, 1st West), Timbers: 9-5-4 (31 points, 2nd West)
FORM GUIDE (most recent first): Seattle: DLWWW, Portland: DLWWW
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 12-10-6 all time against the Timbers in the MLS regular season, including an 8-3-3 mark at home.
PREVIOUS MEETING: Seattle fell 1-0 at Providence Park on Sept. 23 behind a 13th-minute goal from Yimmi Chara.
MISSING INTERNATIONALS: The Sounders will be without forward Raúl RuidÃaz (Peru), midfielder Gustav Svensson (Sweden) and defender Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador) for the fourth consecutive match as they finish quarantine protocols following international duty. The earliest they could return is for the Oct. 27 match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
RESTORING HOME FIELD: Despite success at Providence Park in Portland, the Sounders have not beaten the Timbers at CenturyLink Field in their last four regular-season matches (0-3-1). Seattle’s last win over Portland at home came in a 1-0 victory on May 27, 2017. The Sounders did technically defeat the Timbers 3-2 in the second leg of the 2018 Western Conference Semifinals, but lost the series on penalty kicks.
SIX-POINTER: Thursday’s clash is a massive six-pointer with first place in the West on the line and only a couple weeks remaining in the regular season. Though tied on points, the Sounders own a better goal differential and have a match in hand. Seattle has a better points per game average, should the final season standings come to that if teams finish with an uneven number of matches played due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
STEFAN SHUTOUT: Goalkeeper Stefan Frei earned his fifth shutout of the season in a scoreless draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday. It was Seattle’s first shutout in six matches and something to build upon, even as the Sounders boast the joint-best defensive record in the West.
MIDFIELD MAESTROS: It’s a joy watching Nicolás Lodeiro and Diego Valeri go head-to-head, as the South American playmakers are two of the best players in the league. Lodeiro is third in MLS with eight assists and is tied for first in Big Chances created with 13. Valeri has seven goals and six assists and is first in MLS with 6.71 Expected Assists.
EBOBISSE BOOMING: Timbers forward Jeremy Ebobisse scored his eighth goal of the season in Portland’s 1-1 draw with LAFC on Sunday. The 23-year-old American has eight goals in just over 1,000 minutes this season and has picked up much of the offensive burden left by Sebastián Blanco’s season-ending ACL injury.
DEFENSIVE DOUBTS: The Timbers let another stoppage-time lead go to waste on Sunday as LAFC equalized in the 93rd minute. Portland is second in MLS with 38 goals scored this season, but 18th in goals allowed with 30 in 18 matches.
