The first match of the Cascadia Cup will take place this Sunday when the Portland Timbers host the Seattle Sounders. The rivalry between Portland and Seattle is one of the most intense ones in the MLS and it dates back to the USL. Although Seattle finished atop the Western Conference last year, they were not able to win the Cascadia Cup. The Sounders will look to take the first step to rectifying that on Sunday.
Don't miss the Major League Soccer action from Providence Park at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 13, 2018. Catch every moment of the match live on ESPN.
MLS Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
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Odds Analysis
No line has been released for this match yet. Seattle faced Toronto late on Wednesday night, so sportsbooks will not release the MLS odds for this one until Thursday morning at the earliest. You can be sure that Portland will be favored though since they are playing at home.
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Coming into this year, Seattle was seen as the favorite to win the Western Conference. The Sounders won the conference last year and made a couple key acquisitions in the offseason. However, the first few games of this year were a disaster. Seattle not only failed to win any of their first three matches, they were unable to pick up a goal as well. They were at the bottom of the table, but Seattle has since started to climb out of that hole.
Seattle is 2-2-1 over its last five matches and the defense has fared much better. They have allowed just five goals during that span, leading the turnaround. In their last match against Toronto, they faced a tough task. Toronto has one of the top offenses in the MLS and they were playing at home. However, Seattle allowed just one goal and grabbed a 2-1 road win.
Portland also had a tough start to the year. The Timbers did not pick a win in any of their first five matches of the season. However, all five of those games were on the road and most of those were long trips.
Now that they are on the West Cost, Portland has performed much better. This team squeaked out a 3-2 win over Minnesota United in their first home game and followed that up with a 3-0 win over New York City in the next match. Last week, they grabbed their first road victory of the season thanks to a Diego Valeri goal in the 88th minute. That led to a 1-0 win over San Jose.
Key Absences
Both of these teams have a number of injuries to report. Portland has two players that are definitely out for this match. Defender Roy Miller and forward Jeremy Ebobisse will not be able to take part in this one. However, the Timbers are more optimistic about the prospects of other players.
Midfielder David Guzman and defender Bill Tuiloma are both considered questionable in this match. Each player is dealing with a right knee injury and will be a gametime decision. Defender Vytas is questionable with a right thigh injury.
Seattle has a number of players out. Midfielders Victor Rodriguez and Nicolas Lodeiro both suffered significant injuries and will miss decent amounts of time. Defender Roman Torres has already been ruled out too with a right hamstring strain. Midfielder Harry Shipp is questionable with a right ankle sprain.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
This is a tough spot for Seattle to be in. The Sounders just faced Toronto on Wednesday night and will be on the road again for this one. There isn’t much distance between these two cities, but the Sounders are short-handed and will be more fatigued. Look for Portland to pick up the win in this one.
Major League Soccer Odds: Portland Timbers 2, Seattle Sounders 1
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