Timbers play CF Montréal for first time since 2019; Kickoff Saturday is 4:30pm PT.
In their final road match of the 2023 regular season, the Portland Timbers are grabbing their passports and heading to Quebec for a battle with CF Montréal. It is one of the Timbers' furthest trips all year, and a crucial one too. As the season comes to a close, both Portland and Montréal are fighting for the best possible finish in their respective conferences' Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs races.
Montréal is ninth in the Eastern Conference (11-16-5, 38pts) and while Portland is seventh in the West (11-11-10, 43pts). The two teams will take the field this weekend for the ninth time in MLS regular-season play. Dating back to CF Montréal's debut season in MLS as the Impact in 2012, the Timbers have a 2-4-2 record against their Canadian opponents.
While Portland is currently on a seven-match unbeaten streak at 5-0-2 – the longest active unbeaten streak in MLS – CF Montréal are winless over that same stretch of games (0-4-3) and are scrambling to keep hold of one of the last playoffs spots in the Eastern Conference.
Playoffs Outlook
With just two games remaining on the schedule for Portland, the Timbers have a chance to clinch a spot in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs Saturday should they win. Learn all the playoff qualification scenarios.
Seed | Club | Games In-Hand | Pts. Diff. to PTFC |
5 | Vancouver | 0 | +3 |
6 | Houston | 0 | +2 |
7 | Portland | ––––– | –––––– |
8 | San Jose | 0 | -1 |
9 | Dallas | 1 | -2 |
10 | Austin | 0 | -5 |
Non-Playoff Zone | Wild Card Round | Playoffs |
Here are the matches this weekend that could have an impact on Portland's place in the West:
Saturday, October 7
Dallas vs. San Jose
Minnesota vs. LA
Salt Lake vs. Kansas City
Austin vs. LAFC
Here are the stats to know heading into the weekend:
66%
Five of the eight all-time MLS matches have been played in Québec. Saturday's match will mark the sixth meeting (of nine) across the border, making for 66% of the series taking part away from the Rose City.
18
Felipe Mora and Santiago Moreno have found repeated success of late, scoring in back-to-back games for the Green-and-Gold. Their tallies added to a growing number of goals scored in the latter half of this season, and since August 26, Portland has found the back of the net 18 times (in 8 matches played). It is the second-most goals scored by any team in the league during that span, and has four Timbers registering multiple goal contributions over that period –– Mora (5G, 2A), Evander (4G, 1A), Moreno (3G, 3A), and Dairon Asprilla (1G, 5A).
27
Dairon Asprilla recorded his fifth assist of the 2023 campaign against the Galaxy last week, setting a new single-season career best for the Colombian forward. The 31-year-old has tallied three assists in Portland’s last two matches, joining three other players who have earned five or more assists for the Rose City this season (Claudio Bravo, Santiago Moreno, Juan Mosquera)
1,564
Portland and Montréal don't cross paths as often as their earlier days in the league. In fact, come kick-off on Saturday, it will have been 1,564 days since their last matchup at Stade Saputo on June 26, 2019.
