For only the third time in club history, Nashville SC will visit Providence Park to face the Portland Timbers in MLS action on Sunday.
Earlier this week, the Timbers suffered a 3-2 defeat versus Dallas, while the Boys in Gold were beaten 2-0 by the Columbus Crew.
Match preview
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If football was all about entertainment, the Timbers might be running away with the MLS crown, as they have produced some of the most captivating matches of the 2024 regular season.
On 12 occasions this year, a Portland game has produced four goals or more, including their previous two clashes, which ended 3-2.
Unfortunately, an aggressive approach does not always win the day, as Phil Neville discovered on Wednesday when his team conceded three minutes before the 90 and lost.
As a result, they are now sixth in the Western Conference with 30 points, having suffered three defeats domestically in 2024 when scoring the opening goal.
While their seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions ended on Wednesday, they can extend their MLS unbeaten run at Providence Park to six games this weekend, which would be their longest undefeated run at home since 2022 (six).
After 22 league fixtures, Portland have scored multiple times in 15 of those encounters and have not lost at home all year when doing so.
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The new coach bump may be wearing off for Rumba Munthali in the Music City, with Nashville suffering consecutive defeats for the first time since he took charge.
His time as their head coach will only be temporary though, with BJ Callaghan being announced as the new permanent boss this week.
Callaghan will not join the club until July 22, making his touchline debut on July 31st, so Munthali will be in charge until then.
It has not been spectacular, but under Munthali, Nashville have at least got themselves in a playoff position, sitting two points above that line in the Eastern Conference.
Three of their next four MLS fixtures take place away from home, where Nashville have points in three of their previous four outings.
In their two prior visits to Providence Park, the Boys in Gold have yet to triumph, squandering an early 1-0 advantage in their last trip to Portland in 2022 (1-1 draw).
Team News
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On Wednesday, the Timbers were without Zac McGraw due to a black eye, and Marvin Loria sat out as he is still recovering from knee surgery.
Neville and Evander will be suspended for this upcoming fixture due to yellow card accumulation, while Kamal Miller and Maxime Crepeau are still with the Canadian national team at the Copa America.
Evander scored his team-leading 10th of the campaign in the loss to Dallas, with their other strike coming courtesy of Antony, while an own-goal by Cristhian Paredes three minutes before the 90 sent the Timbers to defeat.
The Boys in Gold were missing Sam Surridge and Anibal Godoy against Columbus due to lower body issues, Randall Leal is dealing with a problem in his hip, while Lukas MacNaughton and Julian Gaines have ankle injuries.
Jacob Shaffelburg will likely miss another match for Nashville this weekend, with Canada featuring in the quarter-finals of the Copa America against Venezuela on Friday.
Joey Skinner made his first appearance in MLS on Wednesday, replacing Tyler Boyd in the latter stages, while Alex Muyl is the only player to feature in every one of their regular season contests this year.
Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:
Pantemis; Mosquera, Araujo, Zuparic, Bravo; Chara, Ayala; Moreno, Fogaca, Antony; Rodriguez
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Bauer, Zimmerman, Maher, Lovitz; Yearwood, Davis; Muyl, Mukhtar, Boyd; Bunbury
We say: Portland Timbers 2-0 Nashville SC
The Timbers are not a solid defensive unit by any stretch, but Nashville do not have a quality chance creator to trouble them, so we project that the aggressive approach of Portland will eventually lead to goals.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
