:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/19126925/gyi0064086167.0.jpg)
The Portland Timbers welcome Toronto FC to town for this evening's cross-conference match. Major League Soccer's first Canadian franchise and almost certainly the last Canadian franchise to make the playoffs, Toronto are playing better than they did early in the year when it took them until the 14th week of the season to find their second win, but as always they are still struggling with injuries and call ups, just like the Timbers.
Here's all the information you need for today's game:
General Information
Kick off: 8:00 pm at Jeld-Wen Field
Portland Timbers: 5th Place (39 points) in the Western Conference.
Toronto FC: 9th Place (22 points) in the Eastern Conference.
Starting Lineups
Portland Timbers: Kocic; Harrington, Jean-Baptiste, Kah, Zizzo; Will Johnson, Chara; Wallace, Nagbe, Alhassan; Valencia
Toronto FC: Bendik; Eckersley, Caldwell, Agbossoumonde, Elmer; Lambe, Hall, Russell, Rey; Wiedeman, Earnshaw
Final Thoughts
There are going to be a lot of players fighting for a spot on both teams today as some fringe Timbers players will look to show that they can step up while everyone on Toronto's roster will be trying to avoid the annual TFC reboot. This isn't a must win, but the Timbers need to get back into a winning mindset to make a run into and through the playoffs, so anything less than three points here against a team whose default state is turmoil will be a disappointing result.