The time is going to come when both the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers have to hit the panic button. Neither team is by any means out of the playoff picture entirely, but both are going to have to go on a bit of a run if they're going to have a serious shot at winning the MLS Cup. The two will meet on Sunday in Providence Park in what is shaping up to be quite the big game for both clubs.
You'll be able to find great MLS odds at BookMaker.eu for this and all of the matches on this weekend's busy American soccer slate.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Timbers are going to be the favorites in this match by a relatively healthy margin merely due to the home and away splits for the two teams. For as abysmal as Portland has been on the road this year, it has been dominant at Providence Park, sporting a 6-1-2 record through nine matches. The Sounders are just 1-2-5 on the road, and that's largely why they've got the worst record in the Western Conference.
KEY INJURIES
Portland is still dealing with the long-term injuries to Adam Kwarasey and Diego Valeri, and the last thing that it needed was to lose Darren Mattocks. Mattocks is out for the next two to three months with a hamstring injury he picked up last week against New York.
Seattle's problems come at the back on the injury front. Roman Torres is done for the season with an ACL injury, and Brad Evans is now dealing with a calf strain which could keep him out for the rest of this week and perhaps the rest of the month as well.
LIVE BETTING
The Timbers have been drawing blanks left and right of late. They've been shut out in three straight matches after scoring seven goals in the three matches which preceded them. The offense has had all sorts of problems getting the ball forward to Darlington Nagbe and Fanendo Adi, as these two have been basically silent over the course of the last several weeks.
Maybe the Sounders can get some positive momentum on Wednesday night against FC Dallas at home. Heading into that match though, they've failed to take the maximum points in five matches in a row, managing just two draws to show for their work in that stretch. That just isn't going to cut it at this level, as Seattle is down to averaging just one point per match.
If things are going to change, it's going to have to be up to the leaders in this attack to get the job done. The Sounders are surely shaky at the back, but they too have had problems going forward. Clint Dempsey is having the worst year of his MLS career, and one of these nights, he's going to have to put this team on his back to keep it in the playoff picture.
QUICK PICK
Perhaps the good news for the Timbers is that their last two scoreless matches came on the road against New York and Colorado, two teams which sure look like playoffs squads this year. Any time you can get points on the road, it's a good day in this league, so maybe we shouldn't be so down on this side.
That said, the lack of creativity going forward is a real issue for the Timbers, and we wonder if the Sounders are going to be able to get something out of this match in spite of their poor form at home. Given the choice of the two options on the Asian Handicap, we'd rather be backing Seattle and the half ball or so we should be getting.
MLS Odds: Portland 1, Seattle 1
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