Timbers v. Seattle Match Preview

It's here. The first showdown of the year between the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders takes place tonight at CenturyLink Field — with the Timbers looking for a lift after two dispiriting home draws and the Sounders attempting to avenge their playoff ouster last winter (6:30 p.m., TV on Fox Sports 1).

Seattle made an unusually strong start to 2019, opening the campaign with a six-game unbeaten streak and making it to the end of May before losing for the second time in league play.

Injuries and international committments took their toll in June, as the Sounders lost three of four, but they've bounced back of late — registering consecutive 2-1 wins over Columbus and Atlanta in their last two games — as a number of key starters have returned to the fold.

Seattle currently sits in third place in the Western Conference, ten points clear of the Timbers and just two points behind the LA Galaxy for second. There's little question that they'll reach an eleventh straight postseason, or that they'll contend once they get there.

Whether the Sounders are a real threat to return to MLS Cup, however, remains to be seen. Osvaldo Alonso and Chad Marshall left huge shoes to fill with their respective departures in the winter and spring, and central defense especially is something of a long-term question mark.

Seattle did play midweek, but just a friendly against Borussia Dortmund — a relatively uneventful 3-1 loss that didn't require the services of a host of starters from Nicolas Lodeiro to Jordan Morris to Gustav Svensson to Stefan Frei.

As has been true for the last several years, Seattle doesn't play a particularly up-tempo or fluid brand of attacking soccer.

Instead, they defend hard, push their fullbacks up the field, feed Lodeiro — who, in his age 30 season, is on pace to set a career high for assists — and let him pick out runners. When Morris plays, his pace in behind frees up space for the midfield and adds another dimension to the Sounders' attack.

Raul Ruidiaz gets the goals, but Lodeiro is the focal point. Seattle is averaging two points per game with the Uruguayan in the lineup, and the higher his usage rate is, the better the team typically looks.

The key for the Timbers, then, will be containing him. That job will fall mostly to Diego Chara, along with whomever plays alongside him in central midfield. Portland will also have to be careful to get their fullbacks cover, likely from their wingers, especially on Kelvin Leerdam's side of the field.

But while the tactics are of course important, the biggest worry for Giovani Savarese might be fatigue. Seattle has played two fewer competitive games than the Timbers have over the last two weeks, and Savarese didn't rotate his team at all for the Thursday night game against Orlando.

The good news for Portland is that Seattle will possess the ball — giving the Timbers opportunities to attack in transition that they lacked against Colorado and Orlando. That should be good news for Brian Fernandez, who scored twice against the Sounders in the Open Cup last month but is without a goal in three games.

One thing that will be interesting to watch is where Christian Roldan is positioned — whether he hunts the ball up the field like he usually does, or whether he sits closer to Svensson to deal with the Timbers' counter.

Canadian Drew Fischer will officiate, with a crowd of around 50,000 expected on hand.

— Julio Cascante is available after serving his suspension on Thursday night, while Bill Tuiloma made his first appearance with the first team . One of the pair will start alongside Larrys Mabiala.

— Jeremy Ebobisse did not start on Thursday night, but was excellent off the bench and should feature here.

— If Savarese chooses to rotate, Renzo Zambrano and Marvin Loría are candidates to play on what would be the biggest stage of their young careers.

The Timbers had more success at CenturyLink last season than they had in their previous seven MLS seasons combined, beating the Sounders there twice — once in the regular season, and once, memorably, in the playoffs.

This is a decent matchup for the Timbers, but it's going to be a big lift on short rest. Seattle wins 2-1.

Source: Portlandmercury.com

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