The Seattle Sounders are visiting bitter rivals the Portland Timbers on Friday night in their second and final meeting of the regular season. Here is everything you need to know:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:25 p.m. PT at Providence Park in Portland, Ore.
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air on 93.3 KJR FM and El Rey 1360AM.
2022 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Seattle: 10-13-3 (33 points, 9th West), Portland: 7-8-12 (33 points, 10th West).
FORM GUIDE (all competitions, most recent first): Sounders: DLLWL, Timbers: LLDDD
PREVIOUS MEETING: The Portland Timbers defeated the Seattle Sounders 3-0 at Lumen Field on July 9. Jarosław Niezgoda opened the scoring in the 24th minute to give the visitors a 1-0 lead entering halftime. Despite Sounders center back Jackson Ragen receiving a red card one minute into the second half, the match remained relatively even until goals from Santiago Moreno and Dairon Asprilla after the 80th minute saw the Timbers leave Seattle with three points.
SIX-POINT SHOWDOWN: Seattle enters the Cascadia derby match level on points with Portland but one spot ahead due to tiebreakers. A win would see the Sounders rise up the table and create some breathing room above their rivals to the south in the race for the postseason
POSITIVE SIGNS: The ending of the Rave Green's wild 3-3 draw against the LA Galaxy was certainly deflating. But the attack is showing signs of life, with RaĂºl RuidĂaz and Jordan Morris getting on the score sheet as the team scored three goals for the first time in almost two months. Add in another solid outing from Homegrown Player Danny Leyva and there are reasons for optimism heading into the home stretch.
RIVALRY ROAD FORM: The Sounders-Timbers rivalry has been a bit of an anomaly in recent years, with the road team consistently dominating results in the regular season. Seattle's most recent visit to the Rose City resulted in a 6-2 win for the Rave Green. Since 2019, the Timbers have won one game at Providence Park, while the Sounders have picked up four victories.
CASCADIA CUP: Friday's match also carries massive implications for the Cascadia Cup, a regional in-season tournament played between Seattle, Portland and Vancouver. The Sounders are back-to-back-to-back Cascadia Cup champions, making the Rave Green the only team to win three straight regional titles in the MLS era. Seattle currently sits four points back of Portland with a game in hand.
MIXED BAG: After hosting the 2021 MLS Cup, Portland has struggled to replicate their form in the current season. While they have the third-most goals scored in the Western Conference, they have also conceded the fourth-highest number of goals.
SCORING BY COMMITTEE: One of the reasons for Portland's success going forward has been the distribution of goal-scoring among their attack. The Timbers have five players who've scored at least five goals this season, with Niezgoda leading the pack with nine goals.
MIDFIELD CREATORS: The Timbers have shown a diversity in attack in large part due to the prolific chance creation from their attacking midfielders. Sebastian Blanco, Santiago Moreno and Yimmi Chara have combined for 24 assists and 113 key passes this season.
