Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake Match Thread [8:00]

The Portland Timbers will host Real Salt Lake tonight in the two team's second of three matches this month. After RSL's 2-1 victory in the US Open Cup, the Timbers will be hungry for a win over the current Supporters Shield leaders.

Both teams are missing important players tonight with team captains Will Johnson and Kyle Beckerman out, so this should have a different look from their last match. Expect the Timbers to put the pressure on RSL from the first whistle tonight, while Salt Lake will try to absorb the pressure and hit the Timbers on the break or through a set piece. If the Timbers do go up on RSL this could easily turn into a shootout like RSL's 4-2 loss to the LA Galaxy on Saturday.

Here's all the information you need for today's game:

General Information

Watch it on: ROOT Sports

Kick off: 8:00 pm at Jeld-Wen Field

Portland Timbers: 3rd Place (38 points) in the Western Conference.

Real Salt Lake: 1st Place (41 points) in the Western Conference.

Starting Lineups

Portland Timbers: Ricketts; Harrington, Jean-Baptiste, Kah, Powell; Zemanski, Valeri, Chara; Wallace, Johnson, Nagbe.

Real Salt Lake: Attinella; Beltran, Borchers, McDonald, Wingert; Alvarez, Stephenson, Morales, Gabavoy; Findley, Plata.

Final Thoughts

A win here puts the Timbers even on points with Real Salt Lake while still holding two games in hand. The Timbers have been a difficult team to beat at home and should win against RSL tonight. If the Timbers can make their way to 41 points tonight, not only will they have the highest points per game in the league, RSL's will have dropped down to 1.57, almost as low as the Sounders. More importantly, though, a win here gives the Timbers their first back to back wins since June.