The Portland Timbers have 32 points to show for their first 22 matches of the season. If they can manage to take three points on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes, there's a good chance they can give themselves a rather insurmountable gap in the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Quakes know that this is a match they have to win. They have a full side once again now that the Gold Cup is over, and the oddsmakers are giving them the benefit of the doubt as a result.
San Jose is just barely the favorite in this fixture at +155 on the three-way line and PK -120 on the Asian Handicap.
The total is fairly standard by the nature of the MLS at 2.5 with -120 vig on the under.
KEY INJURIES
San Jose will be happy to have back its best striking option, Chris Wondolowski, who has been off of Gold Cup duties for the U.S. Men's National Team for the last few weeks. That said, Mike Fucito and Steven Lenhart remain out with injuries, creating a big problem for the Earthquakes up front.
The Timbers are a completely healthy side coming into the post-All-Star break portion of the schedule save for the season-ending ACL injury to Ben Zemanski suffered early in the season.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"It was a game where you leave feeling like we played better than the score, but all we care about is the result. And it has to be better. I take responsibility. I'm the coach; I apologize to the fans. We took one on the chin today, but we need to pick ourselves up and get back to work after the break." – Portland Timbers manager Caleb Porter following a 4-1 loss last weekend to FC Dallas
RECENT FORM
The Timbers are in interesting form right now, if nothing else. They technically don't have a win in their last three matches, but anyone who has watched them play know that they deserved a lot more than just one point from those three duels. The team's last three road matches though, have been disasters, all of which have been 3+ goal defeats.
The Quakes really struggled without Wondo these last few weeks. They have been beaten in four matches in a row, a streak which started with a 1-0 loss to these Timbers back on July 5.
TALKING TOTALS
The Earthquakes might be missing a lot of attacking power up front, but they need their back line to be better, too. The team has allowed 10 goals in its last three matches, all of which made it past the total with ease.
Road matches are obviously all going over right now for Portland, but home matches aren't. The team has split its last four matches in terms of the total, but there is a defined home and away split which cannot be denied.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
This could end up being a really wide open match, completely unlike the one which was played at Providence Park a few weeks ago. In that match, Jack Jewsbury had the winning strike in stoppage time in a match which seemed destined for a goalless draw.
With Wondolowski back though, this could become an interesting proposition for San Jose. The Earthquakes know that they have to go for three points at all costs, while Portland's defense has been suspect at best when playing away from the PDX.
It should be a fun one, and the over is the right play for our money, but we aren't afraid to back San Jose either.
San Jose 3, Portland 1
BookMaker has live MLS odds for every clash of the season. You can find a moneyline price on the San Jose Earthquakes of +155 and a total of 2.5 right now! BookMaker is also going to have multiple betting options available for this nationally-televised match. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, total and spread. Log in and start gambling during the soccer game now!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The fixture between the San Jose Earthquakes and the Portland Timbers will take place at 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 2, 2015 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, CA. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
