MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

 

MLS Match Preview: 

Vancouver Whitecaps

Portland Timbers vs. 

The Portland Timbers remain winless through three games, while the defending Cascadia Cup champions Vancouver Whitecaps currently sit third in the Western Conference behind FC Dallas and the San Jose Earthquakes. On Saturday night the rivals will continue their campaigns for a playoff spot, with an added bonus of fighting for the Cascadia Cup, a cup competition between Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle. 

Portland struggled with Sporting Kansas City last week as the two teams settled for a scoreless draw, disappointing for both sides. Timbers head coach Caleb Porter put out the same lineup that nearly stole three points from the LA Galaxy in the week prior, but against SKC the players looked lackluster. Portland can't be too upset with a point on the road, but they're still searching for their first win of the season. Check out the highlights from last week below.

The lineup will likely remain unchanged for the Portland Timbers. They're one of the few clubs in MLS to remain relatively unphased by international callups this week. Porter has been known to change his lineup unexpectedly, so a change is not out of the question. The most likely of changes to the Timbers lineup would occur in the midfield, probablyGaston Fernandez starting in place of Dairon Asprilla. 

The Vancouver Whitecaps will not be so consistent in their lineup.Christan Dean and Russell Tiebert, and Darren Mattocks have been called up by their respective national teams; Kekuta Manneh and Diego Rodriguez are currently serving their suspensions handed out by the MLS disciplinary committee. The Whitecaps have even lost veteran midfielder Mauro Rosales to a right ankle sprain. 

The matchup to watch is between the two forwards. Caleb Porter favorsFanendo Adi as striker ahead of Maxi Urruti, but the always dangerous Urruti is always on Adi's heels for the starting spot. Urruti was top of the league in goals per 90 minutes last season. Octavio Rivero will be the lone man up top for the Whitecaps and will likely go a full 90 with the absence of Manneh and Mattocks. Rivero has been one of the league's most exciting new players so far this year. He currently shares the top of the MLS goalscoring chart with Clint Dempsey and Blas Perez at three goals.

The Timbers will try to use their speed and their recent form against the 'Caps to their advantage. In the last two matches between these teams, the Timbers have won both, home and away, each time with a score of 3-0. The first of these two matches was at BC Place in Vancouver, where Saturday's match will be played.

Seattle Sounders Take On A Depleted FC Dallas

The Seattle Sounders will be traveling for the first time this year as they take on a depleted FC Dallas team due to international call ups.

The Seattle Sounders will play their first road match of the 2015 MLSseason when they travel to Frisco, TX on Saturday to face FC Dallas. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 pm EST. Dallas enters this match as the only team in MLS with maximum points possible after three matches, nine. The Sounders are coming off their first defeat of the season, a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes.

The last time these two teams played each other, it was in the Western Conference semi-finals. Both legs of the home and home series ended a tie, but the Sounders advanced due to the new away goal that was implemented last season.

Dallas players surely have that in the back of their mind, “Everyone knows in the back of their head that this was the team that knocked us out of the playoffs last year,” Dallas captain Matt Hedges said. “So there’s a little extra motivation, a little extra energy this week in training.”

The Sounders will be playing without two of the starters for this match. Midfielder Marco Pappa will be away on international duty while forward Clint Dempsey will not be available due to an injury he suffered while with the United States Men’s national team. It is also unknown whether midfielder Osvaldo Alonso will be ready to come back from offseason surgery.

Dallas will be without six of their players in Kyle Bekker, Jesse Gonzalez, Atiba Harris, Moises Hernandez, Blas Perez and Je-Vaugh Watson. Perez may be the biggest absence for Dallas has he has scored three goals so far in three games and is tied for the league lead with Dempsey and Octavio Rivero of the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The position that will be must watched from Sounders fans will be the play of center back Brad Evans. In the Sounders loss to the Earthquakes, he was ridiculed harshly by the Rave Green supporters for all three goals. Evans has been a man of many positions and playing center back seems to be the hardest one for him to adjust to playing.

With Dempsey and Pappa out, you can expect forward/midfielder Lamar Neagle to slide up top and pair with Obafemi Martins as they did in their Tuesday night international friendly.  You may also see Chad Barrett get his first start of the season either as forward or midfielder. One could expect to see one of the newer Sounders, perhaps from Seattle Sounders 2 (S2), get the start. It would be no surprise if Aaron Kovar orCristian Roldan got the start as the other midfielder.

In the end, this will come down to defense and the goalkeepers. Dallas ‘keeper Chris Seitz has been playing out of his mind and he knows he has to play as such with Dan Kennedy on the bench. Stefan Frei has been solid and should not have to worry about losing his spot to Troy Perkinsanytime soon.  Since the last four games last season and into the playoffs, Frei has been one of the best ‘keepers in the league.

If you look at the two team’s matches during the playoffs this will be a low scoring affair. If you look at their 2014 matchups during the season, it will be a high scoring affair. Let’s lean towards a low scoring affair with the Rave Green walking away with their first road victory of the season and Evans redeeming himself at the center back position.