Providence Park will open its historic doors for the very first time to Atlanta United on Sunday afternoon. The Portland Timbers and the Five Stripes have both been fantastic offensively this season, and that could make this one of the true showcase games of the weekend in the MLS.
This MLS duel will go down Sunday, May 14, 2017, at 4 p.m. ET at Providence Park. The match will be televised live on ESPN.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Portland Timbers -139
Atlanta United +375
Draw +304
Over/Under 3
Odds Analysis
The Timbers are -0.5 on the Asian Handicap at a price of -139. Much higher than that, and we'll start to see those -1 numbers creep into play at plus odds, margins that are incredibly hard to manage to beat here in the MLS.
Atlanta United is a real longshot to capture three points in this affair at +375.
The total, as predicted, is awfully high by MLS standards at a flat 3 with just a tad bit of vig favoring the over at -116.
Key Injuries
Josef Martinez is the really big loss right now for Atlanta United. He's out for at least a couple more weeks thanks to a quad injury, and though the Five Stripes have been getting along without him quite well, they'd be far better served if one of their best attacking options was on the pitch with them on a weekly basis.
Darlington Nagbe's hamstring injury has to be a bit of a concern for soccer fans across the United States. He's one of the bright young stars of the USMNT, and Bruce Arena would probably prefer that one of his prized jewels isn't risked in a match like this. That said, the Timbers may try to get him out there in such an important match even with his minor hamstring problem.
Gbenga Arokoyo and Chance Myers are both out in defense, while Diego Valeri and Ben Zemanski are both questionable out of the PDX midfield.
Recent Form
Atlanta United has been a bit of an odd team this year. The team whipped Minnesota United 6-1 away from home and managed to get results at Seattle, Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake as well. But this is also a club that looked terrible in matching 3-1 losses over the course of the last couple weeks at New York City FC and D.C. United, and matches like that are the ones that are ultimately going to hamper this team from getting into the postseason.
Portland really struggled last week at San Jose in a 3-0 comprehensive defeat. It was really over before it started at Avaya Stadium, as so many of the Portland regulars were left on the bench or were out via injury. It's a tough spot to be in at the moment with a young and hungry team coming to town, but the Timbers have to get back in form in a hurry after getting just one point in their last two games combined.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Atlanta United is live here, especially if Nagbe ends up being out of the fold once again in this one. The Timbers just aren't in impressive form at the moment, and though we're still a little bit confounded by what Atlanta United really is or isn't, particularly in defense, there's no doubting that 19 goals in 11 matches is awfully good, as is the fact that this team has managed three positive results in four away fixtures.
Perhaps there's an upset brewing at Providence Park, and if there is, we want to be a part of it at a price of almost 4 to 1.
MLS Odds: Atlanta United 2, Portland 1
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