Portland Timbers vs. New England Revolution: How to Watch, Preview, Match Chat [7:30]

It’s been 270 minutes since the Portland Timbers last scored in MLS play. If you’re thinking “That seems like too long,” then you’re right. The last time the Timbers found the back of the net came on September 7th when Brian Fernandez’s header completed a dramatic Timbers comeback against Sporting Kansas City.

On Wednesday night, Portland will take on its final Eastern Conference foe until hopefully late in the playoffs. New England comes into town needing these points just as much as the Timbers do. They currently occupy the seventh and final spot in the East with the Chicago Fire and Montreal Impact right on their heels.

Two players to keep an eye on from the Revs tonight are Gustavo Bou and Carlos Gil. Bou is currently sitting on seven goals while Gil leads his team in both goals (9) and assists (14).

As always, it is pivotal that the Timbers find a way to score first. When they don’t it usually results in the opponent sitting back deeper and the Timbers shot chart ends up looking something like this.

A lot has happened both on and off the field since the Timbers played the Loons on Sunday. The good vibes seem likely to return after MLS revoked the ban surrounding the Iron Front just a few days ago.

It’s the Timbers penultimate home game and they need a goal badly. If they can find one early and exorcise some of their recent finishing demons, it will be a great night to be at Providence Park. If not, that trip to Kansas City next weekend—a place where the Timbers struggle to win points—looks rather daunting.

Preview

Storylines:

“On Wednesday night, Portland will exhaust its games in hand when they take on their Eastern Conference equivalent, the New England Revolution. The Revs are sitting on 41 points and have had a midseason resurgence after hiring ex-USMNT coach Bruce Arena and signing Gustavo Bou, but their form has tapered off recently. Coming off their own scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake, New England have just one win in the past eight games and are desperately looking for points of their own as they try to secure a playoff spot in the east.

For the third time this week — and fifth time in 15 days — the Timbers will head back onto the pitch at Providence Park in search of all three points. There are still many questions to answer as decision day looms near, but none is more important than this: Can they find the back of the net? Time will tell.”

Match Information

Watch it on: Fox 12 Plus

Where: Providence Park in Portland, OR

When: Wednesday, September 25th at 7:30 p.m PST

Portland Timbers: 13-5-13, 8th place in the Western Conference, draw 0-0 vs. Minnesota United

New England Revolution: 10-11-10, 7th place in the Eastern Conference, draw 0-0 vs. Real Salt Lake