Portland Timbers vs Seattle Sounders
Timbers edge Sounders in tight clash
Portland's late strike seals a narrow 2-1 victory over Seattle.
Seattle Sounders took an early lead through K. Kossa-Rienzi at 27 minutes, but Portland Timbers fought back before the break with K. Kelsy equalising. The decisive moment came after the break when B. Bye scored at 82 minutes to secure the win for Portland. While Fipster predicted a more comfortable 4-1 home win, the call for a Timbers victory was spot on, albeit with a closer scoreline than expected.
Analysis
The Portland Timbers face off against the Seattle Sounders in what promises to be a lively MLS regular season encounter. With both teams eager to climb the table, the Timbers look poised to leverage their attacking prowess and home form to secure a commanding win.
Portland currently sit 12th in the league with 18 points from 16 games, while Seattle hold a stronger 6th place with 24 points from 15 matches. Historically, Portland have won 8 of their 20 head-to-head clashes against Seattle, adding a bit of spice to this regional rivalry.
Portland's attack, led by Felipe Mora and Kevin Kelsy, has been in fine form recently, with both players contributing multiple goals in recent matches. Their home scoring average of 2.3 goals per game dwarfs Seattle's modest 0.8 away goals per game. Meanwhile, Seattle's defence has shown cracks, conceding in their last five matches, which Portland will look to exploit. The midfield battle will be intriguing, with Portland's creative duo David Pereira Da Costa and Ariel Lassiter aiming to unlock Seattle's defence, countering the vision of Seattle's Albert Rusnák and Cristian Roldán.
Prediction
Expect Portland to take an early lead, reflected in the predicted 2-0 halftime score, before cruising to a 4-1 victory by full time. The match is also expected to be competitive, with around four cards likely to be shown as tempers flare in this heated rivalry.
Outcome probability
Key Insights
Portland's potent attack vs Seattle's leaky defense
Portland's forwards Mora and Kelsy have strong recent scoring form exploiting Seattle's defensive vulnerabilities.
Portland's superior home scoring rate
Portland averages 2.3 goals per home game, well above Seattle's 0.8 away scoring, favoring a high-scoring home win.
Seattle's recent defensive struggles
Seattle has conceded in last 5 matches, indicating defensive frailty against Portland's attack.
Creative midfield battle
David Pereira Da Costa and Ariel Lassiter's creativity for Portland contrasts with Seattle's Rusnák and Roldán, key to unlocking defenses.
Portland missing key attackers
Portland's O. Fernandez and Andrew Guerra are out, increasing reliance on Mora and Kelsy for goals.
Key Takeaways
In summary, Portland Timbers' attacking firepower and home advantage make them strong favourites to outscore Seattle Sounders comfortably. Fans can anticipate an entertaining match with plenty of goals and a few heated moments along the way.
- Portland Timbers have won 8 of 20 head-to-head matches against Seattle Sounders.
- Portland rank 12th with 18 points from 16 league games.
- Seattle Sounders rank 6th with 24 points from 15 league games.
- Portland average 2.3 goals per home game this season.
- Seattle average just 0.8 goals per away game this season.
- Seattle have conceded in their last 5 matches, showing defensive frailty.
- Felipe Mora and Kevin Kelsy are Portland's top recent scorers.
- David Pereira Da Costa leads Portland in assists this season.
Player Insights
Standout players Fipster expects to impact the match — curated highlights, not full squad lists
Home — Portland Timbers
Away — Seattle Sounders
Form as the teams went into this match — excludes this result and anything since.
Team Comparison
Season shape — attack, defence, form, clean sheets & win rate
Home vs Away comparison
Goal difference in each of the last few fixtures — above the line is a net win, below is a net loss
Season comparison
Goals scored & conceded, goal difference and clean sheets across the season
Halftime Performance
What each side does once the whistle goes for half time
Streaks
Recent-form runs — each side’s most-recent game meets in the middle
Head to Head
Arriola
Kingston
Yellow Card
Kossa-Rienzi
Miller
Yellow Card
Kelsy
Assist: Velde
Kelsy
Yellow Card
Kingston
Lassiter
Gomez
Yellow Card
De Rosario
Kim Kee-Hee
Bye
Assist: Pereira da Costa
Kossa-Rienzi
Kelsy
Bassett
Velde
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vancouver Whitecaps | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | +21 | 34 |
| 7 |  St. Louis City | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 26 |
| 8 |  Seattle Sounders | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | -1 | 24 |
| 9 |  Minnesota United FC | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | -5 | 24 |
| 10 |  Colorado Rapids | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | +2 | 22 |
| 11 |  Portland Timbers | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | -1 | 21 |
| 12 |  San Diego | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | +3 | 21 |
Match Statistics
Portland Timbers
4-1-4-1Starting XI
- 4K. MillerD
- 5B. ByeD
- 7A. LassiterM
- 10David Pereira da CostaM
- 17C. BassettM
- 19K. KelsyF
- 20F. SurmanD
- 21D. CharáM
- 27J. ForyD
- 41J. PantemisG
- 99K. VeldeM
Substitutes
- 6A. BonetigD
- 11AntonyF
- 15E. MillerD
- 16S. JuraD
- 22O. FernandezF
- 23Ian SmithD
- 25T. MuseG
- 30J. CaicedoM
- 80J. OrtizM
Seattle Sounders
4-2-3-1Starting XI
- 5N. ToloD
- 9J. FerreiraM
- 11A. RusnákM
- 14P. RothrockM
- 17P. ArriolaD
- 20Kim Kee-HeeD
- 26A. ThomasG
- 37S. BrunellM
- 39S. HawkinsD
- 45P. KingstonM
- 95O. De RosarioF
Substitutes
- 16A. RoldanD
- 19D. MusovskiF
- 24S. FreiG
- 35A. LopezD
- 85K. Kossa-RienziM
- 90S. GomezM
Portland Timbers
| Player | Pos | Min | Rating | G | A | Shots | SoT | Key Passes | Dribbles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Bye | D | 94 | 8.3 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | — |
| Diego Chará(C) | M | 94 | 7.9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kamal Miller | D | 94 | 7.6 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — |
| David Pereira Da Costa | M | 94 | 7.5 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | — |
| Kristoffer Velde | M | 94 | 7.3 | — | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1/3 |
| Finn Surman | D | 94 | 7.2 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| Jímer Fory | D | 94 | 7.0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1/1 |
| Ariel Lassiter | M | 65 | 7.0 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | 2/3 |
| James Pantemis | G | 94 | 6.9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cole Bassett | M | 88 | 6.9 | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | 0/1 |
| Kevin Kelsy | F | 88 | 6.9 | 1 | — | 4 | 1 | — | 0/1 |
| Substitutes | |||||||||
| Ian Smith | D | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Joao Ortíz | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Omir Fernandez | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eric Miller | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Trey Muse | G | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| José Caicedo | M | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Alex Bonetig | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sawyer Jura | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Antony Alves | F | 29 | 6.5 | — | — | — | — | — | 1/4 |
Seattle Sounders
| Player | Pos | Min | Rating | G | A | Shots | SoT | Key Passes | Dribbles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Arriola | D | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nouhou Tolo | D | 94 | 7.0 | — | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1/1 |
| Albert Rusnák(C) | M | 94 | 6.9 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1/1 |
| Stuart Hawkins | D | 94 | 6.7 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| Jesús Ferreira | M | 94 | 6.6 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1/3 |
| Kim Kee-hee | D | 73 | 6.6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Snyder Brunell | M | 94 | 6.3 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 0/2 |
| Andrew Thomas | G | 94 | 6.2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Peter Kingston | M | 45 | 6.2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Osaze De Rosario | F | 73 | 6.2 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Paul Rothrock | M | 94 | 5.9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Substitutes | |||||||||
| Stefan Frei | G | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kalani Kossa-Rienzi | M | 77 | 7.9 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1/1 |
| Antino Lopez | D | 10 | 6.7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Daniel Musovski | F | 21 | 6.7 | — | — | — | — | — | 0/1 |
| Sebastian Gomez | M | 49 | 6.5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Alex Roldán | D | 21 | 6.5 | — | — | — | — | — | 1/1 |