Sports Mole previews Sunday’s MLS clash between Sporting Kansas City and Portland Timbers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Sporting Kansas City will clash with Portland Timbers at the Children’s Mercy Park this weekend in their gameweek eight MLS fixture.

The hosts claimed a 2-0 win against St Louis City in their last outing, and they will be looking to claim their second victory of the season, while the visitors will be aiming to extend their four-game unbeaten run.

Match preview

© Imago

Having failed to make the playoffs last season, the home fans would have hoped for a better campaign in 2025, but the form their side have shown is far from ideal.

Sporting Kansas have not enjoyed a good start to the current season, with one win, a draw and five losses in seven top-flight fixtures so far.

Their only win came in their last outing, when they handed the visiting St Louis City a 2-0 defeat to snap a six-game winless run.

That triumph took their points tally to four, leaving them second-bottom in the Western Conference standings.

Having conceded 12 goals, they currently have the worst defensive record in the Conference, and there is a lot of improvement needed in that department if they are to reverse their fortunes.

Although Kerry Zavagnin‘s team will be buzzing from getting off the mark in their last MLS fixture, the home side will still be wary of the visitors, who are unbeaten since the beginning of March.

© Imago

Indeed, Portland Timbers have been impressive since the start of the season, claiming three wins, two draws and a couple of defeats in their first seven encounters of the season.

The visitors come into this fixture off the back of a 0-0 draw against Austin at the Q2 Stadium last weekend.

Despite registering six shots on target in the encounter, Phil Neville‘s men were thwarted by a resolute Austin FC side, led by Brad Stuver, who made three notable saves to deny the visitors.

Their latest result leaves them fifth in the standings with 11 points, five behind leaders, the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Ahead of this encounter, the Timbers have a chance to extend their unbeaten run in the league to five games, when they take on Sporting Kansas this weekend for the first time since September 2023.

Sporting Kansas City form (all competitions):

Portland Timbers form (all competitions):

Team News

The hosts have almost a fully fit squad to select from at the weekend, although Rosero Daniel is out of consideration with a groin injury.

Dejan Joveljic, who has found the back of the net four times already in the current campaign, is expected to lead the line, with support from Daniel Salloi and Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov.

For the visitors, Miguel Araujo is out with an undisclosed ailment, and he will not be involved in any capacity.

Jonathan Rodriguez will also be on the sideline for the weekend clash, as he has not made any appearance for Neville’s team this year on account of a knee injury he suffered in October.

Julio Ortiz pulled his hamstring in Portland’s last outing against Austin, meaning this contest will come too soon for him.

Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:

Pulskamp; Fernandez, Miller, Shelton, Ndenbe; Garcia, Bartlett, Davis; Salloi, Joveljic, Suleymanov

Portland Timbers possible starting lineup:

Pantemis, Mosquera, Surman, Miller, Fory; Chara, Ayala; Moreno, Costa, Antony; Mora

We say: Sporting Kansas City 1-2 Portland Timbers

Traditionally, this fixture produces loads of goals, and we expect a few to be scored. Given the recent fine form of Portland Timbers, coupled with the struggles of the hosts, we are backing the visitors to emerge 2-1 winners.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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