Portland Timbers at New York City FC: How to Watch, Previews, Match Chat [2:30]

The Portland Timbers are in the home stretch of the season and looking to secure a playoff berth. Standing in their way are New York City FC as the two sides meet today for just the third time since the Gotham side’s founding in 2015.

Headed on the road to take on the team second from the top of the Eastern Conference, the Timbers are in for a hard time of it. However, with Diego Valeri in the form of his life, Darlington Nagbe returned from national team duty, and David Guzman back from suspension, the Timbers still have every chance of bringing a point back to Portland from today’s match.

Previews

Portland Timbers Preview Interview: “Of the players that the Timbers will be missing on Saturday, the two that most stand out have to be Fanendo Adi and Liam Ridgewell. Gleeson, while an excellent shot-stopper, has had his issues this season and is backed up by long time Real Salt Lake keeper Jeff Attinella, who has proven to be of a similar level to the Timbers' No. 1. Myers, meanwhile, has been hampered by injuries all season and is planted firmly in third place on the Timbers' right back depth chart.”

New York City FC Preview Interview: “The injuries to the team don't necessarily mean that we're going to a whole new system, as evidenced by our match midweek. The loss of Villa is of course the most damaging, and there's no player on our team (or any in MLS) that can replace his goal scoring abilities. Herrera hurts for sure, as he and Ring in the center of the park together hold down the midfield in a way that Ring and Pirlo/McNamara/Lopez cannot.”

Storylines: “The Timbers will be coming into this one fully rested and ready to go. NYCFC, on the other hand, will only have a few days’ rest, which hopefully the Timbers can take advantage of. On the other hand, it’s possible they could show some rust and have a hard go of it.”

Stop by the Rose City Forecast to make your predictions about today’s match.

Match Information

Watch it on: ROOT Sports

Where: Yankee Stadium in New York, NY

When: Saturday, September 9th at 2:30 p.m. PT

Portland Timbers: 11-9-8, 2nd place in the Western Conference, 1-1 draw at Seattle Sounders

New York City FC: 15-705, 2nd place in the Western Conference, 1-0 vs. Sporting Kansas City