PORTLAND, OR – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (8W-9L-6D) will look to make it five matches unbeaten on Saturday when they pay visit to Cascadia rivals Portland Timbers (10W-3L-7D) in a derby match at Providence Park.
KICKOFF: 8 p.m. PT | TV: TSN 1/4 | RADIO: TSN 1040
STORYLINES
Battle for Cascadia: This is the first meeting of the season between Vancouver and longtime rivals Portland Timbers, the reigning Cascadia Cup champions.
Streak-busters: The ‘Caps will look to play the role of spoilers against a Timbers side that are unbeaten in 15 MLS matches, which equals their club record.
Heating up: Erik Hurtado, who grew up just outside Portland, enters the weekend with goals in back-to-back matches – both which required a great deal of skill and composure.
Busy stretch: The ‘Caps, who are unbeaten in four matches across all competitions, continue their busy stretch and push for the playoffs after Wednesday’s Canadian Championship thriller at BC Place. They currently sit just below the playoff line in the West with 11 MLS matches remaining.
PREVIOUS MLS RESULTS
Vancouver Whitecaps FC: 2-2 draw at New York City FC
Portland Timbers: 3-0 win vs. Philadelphia Union
LEADING GOALSCORERS
Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Kei Kamara (9 goals)
Portland Timbers: Diego Valeri (8 goals)
QUOTABLE:
“They’re unbeaten in 15 at home and they’ll be very confident. They’ll be looking at us and going, ‘Oh they had a bit of a heartbreaker on Wednesday, they’ll be tired coming off multiple midweek games.’ But I said before, we know as a team we do really well against adversity. When we’re up against it and no one believes in us is sometimes when we play our best. It’s a derby. Anything happens in a derby.” – Whitecaps FC goalkeeper Stefan Marinović
