Today’s match between the Portland Timbers and the Seattle Sounders comes at a crucial time for both teams.
The Timbers, after tying their longest-ever unbeaten run, are floundering and have lost three in a row. The Sounders, after another slow start to the season, are white-hot and have won their last six matches.
A win for the Timbers would reaffirm their identity as a contender in the West and perhaps resume their upward trajectory in the Western Conference. A win for the Sounders would put them above the red line for the first time this season and would see them pass up both the Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps in the standings to close out the weekend.