Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids: How to watch, preview, match chat [8:00]

As the fixture congestion ramps up in the middle of the Major League Soccer season, the Portland Timbers return home today to face off against the Colorado Rapids in their third match in the last seven days.

Coming off wins against Los Angeles FC in the U.S. Open Cup and New York City FC in league play, the Timbers now must face off against a team with a less impressive record, but on a very impressive run of form. The Rapids have lost just once in their last eight games and, despite being in last place in the Western Conference, are still just four points behind the Timbers.

After running out most, but not all, of their starters against LAFC on Wednesday, the Timbers will likely make a number of changes to their starting XI. With two more games coming up next week, the Timbers will need to continue their aggressive rotation strategy to avoid putting too many miles on the legs of their first choice starters. Thankfully, that means that the Timbers will likely have players like Diego Valeri and Jorge Villafana stepping back into the lineup to take on Colorado.

With only seventeen matches played so far, the Timbers have two games in hand on everyone else in the Western Conference. If they can take all three points tonight against a revitalized Rapids side, they will be back within striking distance of a playoff spot with just under half of the season left to play.

Preview

Storylines: “Coach Conor Casey likes to run a 4-2-3-1, with the always dangerous Kei Kamara leading the attack as the lone striker. He leads the Rapids in goals with 8 and scored back in Colorado during the Snow Classico, which ended in a 3-3 draw. Since coming over from Sporting Kansas City,Diego Rubio has become a key cog in the Colorado offense in his first season as a Rapid. He’s second on the team in goals with four, and he’s logged one assist so far in 2019.”

Match Information

Watch it on: KPDX

Where: Providence Park in Portland, OR

When: Saturday, July 13th at 8:00 p.m. PT

Portland Timbers: 7-8-2, 9th place in the Western Conference, won 1-0 at New York City FC

Colorado Rapids: 5-10-4, 12th place in the Western Conference, lost 2-1 vs. New England Revolution