(2) Portland Timbers (9,4,3, 30 points) vs (11) Real Salt Lake (4,7,3, 18 points)
Wednesday October 14, 2020 6:30 PM PST/ 9:30 PM EST
Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Portland Timbers Briefly
Hard work is certainly doing wonders for the Portland Timbers.
This is in spite of those August 29 memories of the goalfest staged by a rallying Real Salt Lake in the last minutes in Providence Park, exposing an anemic Timbers defensive game. A game that was almost a Portland win, in the end it turned out to be an upsetting draw.
That was then, and now the Rose City side is playing with hunger. Gio is making several must-needed moves in his starting eleven that are paying off. What did that do exactly?
Implementing an internal competition amongst all the Green and Gold players churned out results seen evidently on the field. By giving their best efforts, we got valuable wins that uplifted the players’ all-time confidence.
This is spelling out positive results that speak loudly lately of this team, who are currently experiencing a winning streak of five consecutive games and looking for its continuance when they step in Rio Tinto Stadium.
As in every match lately, manager Giovanni Savarese is highlighting his team’s improvements.When the Timbers display unity on the field, positive results happen.
Because of how the team is playing, with an amended defensive game delivering positive results and three clean sheets lately, confidence is at an all-time high.
Another positive point is that the offensive game is not dependent on one player of the likes of Diego Valeri, as Jeremy Ebobisse, Jaroslaw Niezgoda’s first brace in MLS, and for Felipe Mora leading the team with seven goals scored.
The foursomes is the heart of the Timbers’ offensive game, alongside both Chara brothers Diego and Yimmi providing all the fireworks for the team’s incredible scoring fest lately.
The offensive attack is moving solidly, and the defense is playing to an amazing degree that this team is moving on with an incredibly positive attitude that in the end is the spark that this club needed and is delivering.
Still, Real Salt Lake playing at home is a compact team who are considered a tough foe to defeat. This is something, as lately they are not playing to expectations and becoming more vulnerable.
Despite those references, it can translate into an easy win for the Portland Timbers, but for the Claret and Cobalt, these would not be an easy foe to mess with at home in Rio Tinto Stadium.
Probable Lineup:
GK Steve Clark, Pablo Bonilla, Larry’s Mabiala, Dario Zuparic, Jorge Villafaña; Diego Chara, Eryk Williamson; Jeremy Ebobisse, Diego Valeri, Yimmi Chara; Jaroslaw Niezgoda
Real Salt Lake Briefly
Time is running out for manager Freddy Juarez, with his Claret and Cobalt below the postseason spots and last Saturday’s loss at Providence Park and with a come-from-behind rally from the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Heartbreaking, you bet, as manager Juarez is looking at any possible way to turn things around in the remainder of the season, with RSL looking forward to a promising finish and a possible spot in the postseason.
As the memories of that wild showdown back in Providence Park, when they put a rally of their own and came back to spoil the local Timbers, what would be a win, in the end, turn out to be an eight-goal match.
However, the way these Timbers are playing with such hunger and looking at any cost to earn a sixth consecutive win, with a much-improved defense as well a high rolling offensive game.
For the Claret and Cobalt side, they should get back to business, as well as stepping its defensive game with a more stingy approach as well as strategizing a more and dynamic attack in order to come up with the win and play the spoiler.
Probable Lineup:
GK Andrew Putna, Aaron Herrera, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva, Donny Toia; Pablo Ruiz, Kyle Beckerman; Justim Meram, Maikel Chang; Douglas Martinez, Damir Kreilach
Meetings
August 29, 2020, Portland Timbers 4-4 Real Salt Lake
October 19, 2019, Real Salt Lake 2-1 Portland Timbers (Playoffs)
Forecast
The Portland Timbers are looking like overall favorites, but RSL can be a handful at Rio Tinto. I see it as an even match.
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
