MATCH INFORMATION
Date: Sept. 23, 2020
Kickoff: 7 p.m. (Pacific)
Location: Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Forecast: Rain, 66 degrees
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt, Jeff Hosking
Fourth Official: Farhad Dadkho
VAR: Ramy Touchan
Local TV: FOX 12 PLUS
Talent: Jake Zivin (play-by-play), Ross Smith (analyst), Nat Borchers (analyst)
English Radio: 750 The Game
Talent: Keith Bleyer (play-by-play), Joe Sleven (analyst), Fletcher Johnson (host)
Spanish Radio: La GranD (KGGD 93.5 FM, 1150 AM)
LAST TIME OUT
The Portland Timbers earned a 6-1 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes at Earthquakes Stadium on Saturday night. The six goals registered by the Timbers set a new MLS regular-season single-game club record, while five different players scored in the win for Portland.
SCOUTING SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
Entering Wednesday’s regular-season match against Portland, Seattle Sounders FC (6-2-3, 21pts) are coming off a 3-0 win at home against Los Angeles FC at CenturyLink Field on Sept. 18. Raúl RuidÃaz ranks third in MLS and leads the team with eights goals scored in 11 games played. Jordan Morris has tallied six goals ranks first on the team with five assists in 11 regular-season appearances. Nicolás Lodeiro has notched four goals and four assists. Additionally, goal- keeper Stefan Frei has tallied 37 saves and four shutouts in 11 league starts.
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES
Wednesday’s contest marks the 110th all-time meeting between the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC since the 1975 season. Since the Timbers entered MLS in 2011, Sunday’s match will be the 36th match across all competitions be- tween the two clubs, with the Timbers trailing the Sounders 14-15-6. In 20 regular season matches against the Sounders, Diego Valeri has tallied five goals and nine assists, while Diego Chara has played 23 regular-season matches against Seattle, which is the most by any player in the fixture in the clubs’ MLS eras. Notably, in five road matches against Seattle across all competitions since head coach Giovanni Savarese began coaching the club in 2018, the Timbers hold a 4-1-0 record, including a 4-2 penalty shootout win at CenturyLink Field in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinals of the MLS Cup Playoffs on Nov. 8, 2018.
VALERI NAMED MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Diego Valeri was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the 12th week of the 2020 MLS season after tallying two goals and an assist in a 6-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Sept. 19. With his performance against San Jose, Diego Valeri now sits at 82 goals and 86 assists in 222 appearances (211 starts) in league play since joining the Timbers in 2013. Having scored or assisted in nine of the club’s 12 regular season matches in 2020, Valeri has at least a goal or an assist in 127 regular-season matches for Portland. Notably, Valeri has tallied 94 goals and 97 assists in 261 appearances (241 starts) across all competitions for the Timbers.
GIO COACHING AGAINST SEATTLE
In 10 matches coaching across all competitions against Seattle Sounders FC dat- ing back to 2018, Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese holds a record of 6-4-0. Savarese has guided Portland to a 4-3-0 record against Seattle in regular-season play, a 1-1-0 record against the Sounders in the MLS Cup Playoffs and an un- defeated record against Seattle (1-0-0) in U.S. Open Cup action. Notably, in five road matches against Seattle across all competitions, Savarese has managed the Timbers to a 4-1-0 record, including a 4-2 penalty shootout win at CenturyLink Field in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinals of the MLS Cup Playoffs on Nov. 8, 2018.
DEPTH ON DISPLAY
Across all competitions in 2020, 24 players have appeared in at least one match for Portland, while 12 different players have scored at least one goal and 14 different players have recorded at least one assist. Three different goalkeepers have played for the Timbers, with Aljaz Ivacic notably making his debut for the club and tallying three saves in a 6-1 win against the San Jose Earthquakes on Sept. 19. In total 19 players featured across seven games in the MLS is Back Tournament for the Timbers, and 15 of those 19 players appeared in at least three games during the tournament.
