Let’s now take a peek at a very important MLS clash, where two of the best teams in the Western Conference will be clashing against each other. The Portland Timbers have been going through a rough patch lately, as they are now win-less in their last 4 matches. They will be traveling to Kansas on Saturday, July 1st, where they will be hosted by the local Sporting Kansas City, a team that has been excellent lately, having remained undefeated in their last 6 matches.
Sporting Kansas City (8-4-6) were involved in a US Open Cup match on Wednesday, where they easily brushed Houston aside and moved on to the quarter-finals of the competition. They have been in excellent form lately, as they are now undefeated in their last 6 matches, having kept 4 clean sheets in that span (4-0-2). It’s not that they have been great only lately, as they are still sitting at the top of the Western Conference with 30 points after 18 matches so far. They might have only scored just 22 goals, but they feature the best defense in the Conference with just 12 conceded. They have been excellent at home so far, as they are one of the two teams to not have lost at home so far (6-0-2). They have the 3rd best home offense with 17 goals so far, and by far the best home defense, as they have just conceded 3 goals so far. They will be coming into this match with a handful of absences, as Palmer-Brown and Feilhaber are still listed as questionable to participate, while Besler, Dwyer and Zusi are away on international duty.
On the other hand, the Portland Timbers (7-7-4) are coming off a very frustrating 2-2 draw at home against Cascadia Cup rivals Seattle Sounders. Their opponents took the lead early in the match at the 27th minute, but they were also left with 10 men at the 44th minute. Fanendo Adi scored from the spot in the very next minute as he pulled even for the Timbers, while they also took the lead 4 minutes later. Seattle were somewhat pushing for an equalizer at the second half, while the Timbers were not very good and were eventually stunned by the Sounders, who pulled even at the 4th minute of stoppage time for the final 2-2. The Timbers are now winless in their last 4 (0-3-1), but they are still sitting at the 3rd spot of the Western Conference with 25 points after 18 matches so far. They have the best offense in the Conference with 31 goals so far, but they also have the 3rd worst defense with 28 conceded goals. They haven’t been very strong on the road so far (2-6-1), where they have scored 12 goals against 19 conceded. They have been tragic in their latest road trips, as they have lost 6 in a row, having conceded 15 goals in that span against just 6 scored.