Gaston Fernandez was the catalyst for the Timbers start last year. Despite playing in all seven matches, the Argentine has only played a total of 117 minutes and has but one shot on goal so far.

Preview: Portland Timbers at Seattle Sounders

by Matt Hoffman

The Portland Timbers missed out in the postseason in 2014 by one measly point. Caleb Porter and pundits alike had no troubles pinpointing where things went wrong: a horrid start that saw the Timbers earn five points in their first eight games and a defense that not only bent, but often broke as well.

After two years of a revolving door of defenders, the acquisitions on the backline seem to be paying off. The Timbers have used the same back four (Alvas Powell, Liam Ridgewell, Nat Borchers and Jorge Villafana) for the entire season.

Sunday’s fixture in Seattle will be the truest test yet. The Sounders are not only one of the most prolific offenses in Major League Soccer, but derby matches seem to bring out the best in Seattle strikers.

It doesn’t matter who is starting up top, be it Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson, or Clint Dempsey. They have all had remarkable success against the Timbers.

Seattle scored five goals in their first two games before going on a cold spell scoring one goal over the span of three matches. They recovered their scoring touch last week against Colorado, one of the league’s better defenses who hitherto had four shutouts in six games.

It took individual brilliance to overcome Colorado as Seattle put on quite the spectacle. Whether it was Lamar Neagle’s brilliant curler (which Sigi Schmid described at training this week as “worth the price of admission”) or Obafemi Martins’ uncanny spin move, Seattle will take chances. And often those chances pay off.

“[Sometimes you’ve] got to dare to be brilliant .. and once in a while and when they do, it’s stupendous.” — said Sigi Schmid on Seattle’s recent highlight reel goals.

How well the Timbers defense can contain Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins will go a long way to determining the outcome. Communication between the defenders and keeping bodies on Seattle’s attackers is crucial.

So far, Seattle has but one set-piece goal (a penalty kick). Seattle can add to their tally if the Timbers set-piece defending resembles what we saw last weekend in the Bronx. NYCFC players would routinely lose their marker on corner kicks which very much could have been disastrous.

The Sounders will be without Chad Marshall who will be facing a one-game suspension. As we saw last year, Seattle is not nearly as sharp defensively without Marshall.

This is a big break for the Timbers. Brad Evans, despite his versatility, has not yet settled into the center-back position.

They might need it.

Despite the strides made on defense, the Timbers are struggling to score. Injuries to Diego Valeri and Will Johnson are widely believed to be the culprit here. Trying to find offense has caused Porter to go back to the drawing board and trying new formations and new pairings with mixed results.

Against NYCFC the Timbers trotted out a 4-2-3-1 this time shifting Darlington Nagbe from the right flank into the middle. It’s hard to call it a success because while the Timbers did win, it came against a dilapidated City team playing without any of its three marquee signings.

The Timbers has 12 shots compared to NYCFC’s 21.

Offensively, the fulcrum falls on Nagbe.

Whether he plays on the right and drifts in or stays centrally, there’s no question that he’s the straw the stirs the Timbers drink.

According to Opta, Nagbe has the most completed passes (294 completed passes with an 86% accuracy) as well as the most “chances created” (19 1 assists and 18 key passes).

Despite losing the possession battle (the Timbers have only won the possession battle twice–both losses), The Timbers are passing the ball well (just over 80% for the year) and have multiple games where they eclipsed 500 passes.

If the only thing holding the Timbers offense back is injuries, then the Timbers received good news as Diego Valeri and Will Johnson are nearly ready to return to the pitch.

At training this week Porter all but ruled out Valeri making the eighteen this weekend while Johnson will be, barring any setbacks, playing roughly 50-60 minutes for T2 this weekend.

But for one more game, the Timbers will have to make do without them.

The Timbers have never won a regular season match in Seattle but the prospect of losing any more points in an increasingly competitive west can’t make the Timbers complacent.

More Cascadia Derby:

Tactical preview: Cascadia derby has potential for goals

First Sounders-Timbers Darby of the Year – Seattle Preview

Sounders v Timbers: The view from Vancouver

Timbers Training: Will Johnson and Diego Valeri Show