Everything you need to know about Timbers-Sounders

The Seattle Sounders head down I-5 to play the Portland Timbers in a Cascadia Cup clash on Saturday. The Sounders currently sit three points above the Timbers in the Western Conference standings. Both teams have been among the hottest in the league since their previous meeting, where the loser would end the day last in the West.

The Timbers will be missing their two leading scorers, Felipe Mora and Jonathan Rodriguez, who are both suspended. The Sounders are effectively at full fitness.

Here’s what you need to know:

Availability

Timbers

OUT: Marvin Loria – Leg; Felipe Mora — Suspension; Jonathan Rodriguez — Suspension

QUESTIONABLE: Zac McGraw – Leg

Sounders

QUESTIONABLE: Braudilio Rodrigues - Hamstring

Stats to look smart

• When these teams last faced off, they sat 13th and 14th in the Western Conference standings. Including that game, the Sounders have gone 9-3-3 in the 15 league games since, while the Timbers have gone 8-4-3. They have the third and fourth most points in the Western Conference in that time.
• The Timbers are currently leading the West and are second in all of MLS with 54 goals scored this season. With his next goal, Evander will give the Timbers three players with at least 13 goals in a season, joining Rodriguez and Mora. That would be just the fourth time in MLS history that has happened. No team has had as many as three 14-goal scorers. The trio has combined for 56 goal-contributions.
• Rodriguez (17) and Mora (15) have accounted for 33% of the Timbers goal contributions this year.
• The Sounders have allowed the fourth fewest goals (31) and the fifth-best xGA in MLS.
• The Sounders currently lead the all-time series with the Timbers, 57-46-17, and have a slight edge in MLS regular-season games as well with a record of 15-14-9.

Tactics to impress

• The Timbers love attacking but aren’t quite as much of a transition team as it may seem. Where they excel is in doing every part of the attacking game better than average. They are reasonably aggressive off the dribble, tend to hit a lot of long balls and aren’t shy about shooting from distance. It makes them hard to stop. But if you can keep them from scoring multiple goals, you’re in pretty good shape. They’ve only been held to less than two goals six times this year, but they’re 0-5-1 in those matches, including a 2-1 loss to the Sounders earlier this year. Heck, they’re only 5-9-5 when they score two goals or fewer.
• After a slow start on scoring from corner kicks, the Sounders built a reputation as a bad attacking set-piece team. That’s not really true anymore. They have six goals off of set pieces, which is pretty much middle of the pack. The Timbers, meanwhile, have allowed a league-high 12 goals off of set pieces. The Sounders would do well to exploit those chances.

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