Crew SC hosts the Portland Timbers on Saturday at MAPFRE Stadium for a 7:30 pm ET kickoff and the pair's first meeting in Columbus since the 2015 MLS Cup Final. The Black & Gold’s efforts last week bumped them up in the power rankings, while the Timbers are still sitting pretty atop of the Western Conference.
This will be the 8th all-time meeting between these Eastern and Western Conference rivals.
Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner
Columbus and Portland both come into Saturday’s match off a win from in Week 3.
The Timbers hustled Houston in the second half to emerge with a 4-2 win after Diego Valeri opened the scoring early with an 11th minute penalty kick. Despite the bloated final scoreline, Portland was trailing 2-1 at the end of the first half. With a fresh 45 minutes ahead, it turned things around and found the back of the net three unanswered times, leaving their opponents stunned with a 4-2 turnaround.
Columbus also snagged three points last week in the Nation’s Capital against D.C. United with a 2-0 shutout. Both goals were scored via penalty kicks won by Ola Kamara inside the 18-yard box. Federico Higuain took the first penalty; the 40th goal of his Crew SC career. Kamara netted the second penalty in the second half, securing Columbus’ victory.
Derailing Diego
The Timbers have proven to be dangerous so far this season. The front six have tormented opponents throughout the past three matches, but fortunately — for the Black & Gold — two of them will miss Saturday’s match due to international duty: David Guzman (CRC - WCQ) and Darlington Nagbe (U.S. - WCQ). However, the other four members of the front six will be there and could be a cause for concern, particularly Diego Valeri.
The Portland midfielder is the heart of the Timber’s attack. In addition to his brace in Saturday’s match against Houston, he has four goals and two assists so far this season. Valeri is now fourth on the Timber’s all-time scoring records with 41 goals.
We Meet Again
This match will be especially important for Crew SC supporters. It is the first time the Portland Timbers will have played in Columbus and at MAPFRE Stadium since the 2015 MLS Cup Final. In the past regular season matchups between the two rivals, there has been no clear advantage for either team with Crew SC's head-to-head record sitting at 2-3-2 (7 GF, 8 GA).
The Timbers look to continue their 2017 winning streak, while Columbus looks to break it and build off Week 3’s victory in D.C..
The Black & Gold next host Orlando City on April 1 for a 4 p.m. ET kickoff at MAPFRE Stadium.
