Portland Timbers are seeking revenge against Seattle Sounders at the Providence Park as the Cascadia Cup rivals face off for a third time in a month.
The Timbers won 2-1 in the corresponding fixture when the sides last met, but a 3-0 home loss to the same opponents at the end of August threatened to derail their campaign.
After winning the MLS is Back Tournament, Giovanni Savarese's side won just one of their next six matches, starting with that heavy reverse at the hands of the Sounders.
However, Portland thrashed San Jose Earthquakes 6-1 at the weekend to kickstart their campaign and head coach Savarese knows the importance of beating Seattle.
"It's a team we want to beat all the time, just like how they want to beat us every time," Savarese said. "It never gets old. We're very excited to play Seattle.
"The fact that it's home, we're twice as excited because we want to make sure we get a good result that we haven't got in the two previous matches."
The Sounders are three points better off than Portland at the top of the Western Conference after beating the Earthquakes 7-1 and Los Angeles FC 3-0 in their two games since last facing the Timbers.
Despite the routine nature of the victory over LAFC, though, Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer felt his side were made to work hard for the three points.
"Why would you say it's comfortable? Did you watch the game? The second half, I don't know if we ever got out of our half until like 26 or 27 minutes in when we got a corner kick up the field," Schmetzer said.
"Two-nothing is the most dangerous lead in soccer - you know that. That was a challenging game against a good opponent.
"It was not an easy game, it was not a comfortable game, at least I didn't feel comfortable."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portland Timbers - Diego Valeri
Valeri racked up two goals and an assist in the resounding win at San Jose to earn the MLS Player of the Week award. It is the ninth time he has scored more than once in a league game, helping Portland on their way to a morale-boosting three-point haul after two games without a win.
Seattle Sounders - Raul Ruidiaz
Seattle's return of 26 goals is the highest in the entire league, with Ruidiaz responsible for eight of those. The Peruvian scored two and set up another in the reverse meeting with the Timbers and has maintained his impressive form, putting the icing on the cake in the 3-0 win over Los Angeles FC last time out after Nicolas Lodeiro's penalty double.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- This will be the third meeting between the Timbers and Sounders in the course of 31 days, with each side recording an away win in the first two games. The away side has won each of the last six regular season meetings between the rivals, though the hosts won both matches in the 2018 Western Conference Finals.
- The Timbers scored a club-record six goals in their 6-1 win over San Jose on Saturday, with five different players finding the net. It marked just the second time in club history that the Timbers have won a match by a five-goal margin and the first since a 5-0 win over Chivas USA on October 26, 2013.
- Seattle has scored ten goals over their last two matches, wins over San Jose and LAFC. The Sounders have scored at least three goals in five of their last seven matches, totaling 22 goals in that time (3.1 per match).
- Diego Valeri scored two goals and added an assist in Portland's rout of San Jose on Saturday. It marked the sixth time in his career that he's been directly involved in three goals in a match as he's had at least one game with three direct goal contributions in each of the last five seasons.
- Raul Ruidiaz has been directly involved in nine of Seattle's last 11 goals against Portland (7 goals, 2 assists, including playoffs), including scoring twice and assisting once in Seattle's 3-0 win at Portland in August. Ruidiaz has been directly involved in eight goals (6 goals, 2 assists), tied for most in MLS since the regular season resumed last month.
Portland Timbers are seeking revenge against Seattle Sounders at the Providence Park as the Cascadia Cup rivals face off for a third time in a month.
The Timbers won 2-1 in the corresponding fixture when the sides last met, but a 3-0 home loss to the same opponents at the end of August threatened to derail their campaign.
After winning the MLS is Back Tournament, Giovanni Savarese's side won just one of their next six matches, starting with that heavy reverse at the hands of the Sounders.
However, Portland thrashed San Jose Earthquakes 6-1 at the weekend to kickstart their campaign and head coach Savarese knows the importance of beating Seattle.
"It's a team we want to beat all the time, just like how they want to beat us every time," Savarese said. "It never gets old. We're very excited to play Seattle.
"The fact that it's home, we're twice as excited because we want to make sure we get a good result that we haven't got in the two previous matches."
The Sounders are three points better off than Portland at the top of the Western Conference after beating the Earthquakes 7-1 and Los Angeles FC 3-0 in their two games since last facing the Timbers.
Despite the routine nature of the victory over LAFC, though, Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer felt his side were made to work hard for the three points.
"Why would you say it's comfortable? Did you watch the game? The second half, I don't know if we ever got out of our half until like 26 or 27 minutes in when we got a corner kick up the field," Schmetzer said.
"Two-nothing is the most dangerous lead in soccer - you know that. That was a challenging game against a good opponent.
"It was not an easy game, it was not a comfortable game, at least I didn't feel comfortable."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portland Timbers - Diego Valeri
Valeri racked up two goals and an assist in the resounding win at San Jose to earn the MLS Player of the Week award. It is the ninth time he has scored more than once in a league game, helping Portland on their way to a morale-boosting three-point haul after two games without a win.
Seattle Sounders - Raul Ruidiaz
Seattle's return of 26 goals is the highest in the entire league, with Ruidiaz responsible for eight of those. The Peruvian scored two and set up another in the reverse meeting with the Timbers and has maintained his impressive form, putting the icing on the cake in the 3-0 win over Los Angeles FC last time out after Nicolas Lodeiro's penalty double.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- This will be the third meeting between the Timbers and Sounders in the course of 31 days, with each side recording an away win in the first two games. The away side has won each of the last six regular season meetings between the rivals, though the hosts won both matches in the 2018 Western Conference Finals.
- The Timbers scored a club-record six goals in their 6-1 win over San Jose on Saturday, with five different players finding the net. It marked just the second time in club history that the Timbers have won a match by a five-goal margin and the first since a 5-0 win over Chivas USA on October 26, 2013.
- Seattle has scored ten goals over their last two matches, wins over San Jose and LAFC. The Sounders have scored at least three goals in five of their last seven matches, totaling 22 goals in that time (3.1 per match).
- Diego Valeri scored two goals and added an assist in Portland's rout of San Jose on Saturday. It marked the sixth time in his career that he's been directly involved in three goals in a match as he's had at least one game with three direct goal contributions in each of the last five seasons.
- Raul Ruidiaz has been directly involved in nine of Seattle's last 11 goals against Portland (7 goals, 2 assists, including playoffs), including scoring twice and assisting once in Seattle's 3-0 win at Portland in August. Ruidiaz has been directly involved in eight goals (6 goals, 2 assists), tied for most in MLS since the regular season resumed last month.
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