Match Preview & Discussion Thread: Timbers vs. Red Bulls
The Portland Timbers are back at home for the first time in a month, as they host the New York Red Bulls at Providence Park on Saturday night (kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. PT, streaming on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Can the Timbers return to winning ways for the first time since July? Here's your preview of the match, as well as your spot to chat through it – now for the first time on the new Stumptown Footy!
Match Preview
Welcome Home
Saturday will mark the first time that Portland's newest DP attacker Kristoffer Velde takes the pitch at Providence Park. It's wild to know that he was signed almost a month ago, and fans are just now getting the chance to see him in action in person.
And what every fan wearing green & gold at Providence Park will be hoping to see from Velde is plain and simple: goals. It's the primary reason Portland brought the Norwegian in during the summer window, and it's been badly needed for the Timbers. Portland has scored multiple goals just once in their last eight MLS matches, punctuating what has been their biggest weakness this season.
Here's hoping the roar of the Providence Park crowd will encourage Velde, and the Timbers, to find the back of the net.
Leaning in From the Wing
The other man who is set to make his home Timbers debut is Matias Rojas. The winger was seen as a stop-gap for the sudden departure of Santiago Moreno, but so far he – nor any other Timber – has proven to be an adequate replacement.
Nobody on the roster has the tools to be, if we're being honest. But that doesn't eliminate the need for the Timbers to get some kind of playmaking from the wing. Portland's offense is built on getting their skill players in space with the ball. That's much easier to do if there are multiple facets from which they can attack. Velde and David Da Costa account for two options, but what to do on the opposite side?
Rojas, who's strongest ability seems to be serving balls in, could get the start. But so too could Antony, who has far and away been Portland's best offensive player this season. And don't discount Omir Fernandez or Ariel Lassiter, who both have shown flashes of quality and seem to be favored by head coach Phil Neville.
Whichever direction the gaffer decides, the player who sets up on the wing opposite Velde will tell us a lot about how Neville wants his team to attack, and whom he trusts to get the job done.
Eurosnobs
The title is perhaps a bit unfair, but the fact of the matter is that two of the biggest names on RBNY's roster are former European league stars over the age of 30. Emil Forsberg has been a playmaking fulcrum for the Red Bulls, and has shown that he is bought in to playing in MLS, unlike other European names that have come to the league.
That is also true for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who has exploded onto the scene and scored 15 goals already for New York this year. Proving that his age is nothing more than a number, his experience and guile have led him to have plenty of chances in front of opponents' goals.
Those two will be the main names for Portland to keep an eye on tonight, along with a bevy of other energetic and running Red Bulls. RBNY proved last season that the strength of their collective can lift them to great heights as they made the MLS Cup Final. Despite their abysmal away record, you can't count them out.
